Queen of Hearts
by LolitaPop27
Summary: Alternate Reality: Dhampirs are blood whores, there are only 4 Royal Moroi familes, and Strigio aren't a menace. Dimitri is autioned off at a blood whore slave trade and has to live out his life to his new mistress, the Queen of Hearts. But, he unexpectedly falls for a new young girl who lives under the King of Spades... WARNINGS: smut, swearing, abuse, and some non-con, m/s, etc.
1. Chapter 1

There was an uncomfortable heat that made the room feel as if it were on fire. It was muggy and humid, sweat dripped off the man's brow. His hands were secured to the chair. He knew he couldn't move whether he wanted to or not. He did know he'd have to wait for _her_ to come back, to take the gag from his mouth, to unbind his hands, and to remove the leather strap placed over his eyes acting as a blindfold. His throat burned from overuse and the lack of water. He'd been in this for three days straight and his body was slowly beginning to fade in and out from exhaustion. He swallowed again trying to help sate the burn.

The creak in the corner of the room gave him the chills. _She_ was back for him. That's when the struggles began. He tried to pull himself free, tried to deny himself the eager rush that swept over him. He knew what _she_ wanted, knew that _she_ only wished to control him and own him. But, that didn't help expel the heavy desire that misted throughout the room.

Breathy moans and panting soon began, and _she_ just chuckled while stripping down. _Her_ eyes traveled up his naked body and a bright smile lit _her_ face when _she_ saw it… his dick. Feather light touches all over his body made him whimper out against the gag. He needed _her_… and _she_ just wanted to make him go mad. And he was content with that, if it meant _she_ would give him pleasure again. _She_ straddled his lap and licked the outer shell of his ear before nuzzling _her_ nose down his jaw to his neck. _Her_ fangs brushed him there, and hovered.

_Her_ slim fingers undid the knot at the back of his head. _She_ slipped the leather strap away from his eyes, looking at how they were dilated and full of desire and lust. Soon, he would be _hers_, and only _hers_. The dark room illuminated; the candles suddenly lit aflame. She smiled as he writhed underneath her, ready to come undone with a single touch.

She could practically hear his thoughts, 'Please! Please…" How could she deny her blood whore release? She slid down his chest till the tip of his cock pressed against the lips of her snatch. He moaned and thrust up to bury himself in her warmth. Shuddering with desire, he thrust again and again into her, while she ground down onto him.

The room was filled with the scent of sex and the twisted moans that escaped through the gag. He needed her to let him come; their previous adventures left him with an aching hard on and an uncomfortable warm pool in his stomach. He doubled his pace hoping to find something that would please her. It did.

She threw her head back and her entire body trembled as her warm velvety insides clench desperately, milking him. She removed the gag just as he bathed her insides white. A wrecked moan left him as he shattered beneath her.

"My little slut… I'll be seeing you tomorrow." His dark brown eyes followed her as she brushed his equally dark brown hair out of his face. He was still panting; his chest heaving and she gave him a small rewarding kiss. Her bright blue eyes narrowed in on him and she smiled again before slipping on a robe and leaving him. The last thing Dimitri saw before passing out was Tasha going around him to the door in the back of the room.

**Author's Note: Let's hope that this was an okay beginning… Things might be confusing, like why Dimitri is with Tasha and why she's treating him like her sex toy…**

**Well, this is an alternate reality where Dhampirs are all blood whores, Moroi Royals are asses (not like that has really changed…) So, Strigio aren't really in here till later, but I have a good sense of where I want this to go. For those of you who are reading this, I hope you enjoyed this and there will be more to come.**

**Oh, and by the way… here is a little piece of information that may help some of you out.**

**Dhampirs = blood whores**

**Royal Moroi = only four families (the rest are just citizens who live under the four families rule). Obviously you know who one of the Royals is, Ozera. If you can figure out the other three, congrats! **

**Humans = walking blood bags. They're not good enough to be blood whores or slaves. They are usually killed after the one drink.**

**Strigio = keep to themselves. They don't show up much. In some ways they are seen as the pure vampires. (Won't show up until much later in the story; maybe…)**

**Again, I hope that helped some. Review please? Thank you!**

**-Lolita**


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha walked around the castle after redressing herself. She felt a bit lonely because she could no longer convince Dimitri to leave the dark room. Dimitri was angry with her and wanted nothing to do with her, so Tasha had no other choice than to tie up her little slave and make him beg for everything.

He needed to learn who his master was, who he answered to, because Tasha was the Queen of Hearts. Dimitri knew this and yet still, he fought with her over the littlest of things. He refused to go out in public with her. He refused to obey her. But, most importantly, he refused to bed her whenever and wherever she pleased.

This little tiff had started out when they had first met. He was offensive and handsome, but he was also untrained and fresh. His body was built like a temple. His golden tan skin had caught her off guard, and all she really remembered that day was Victor's reaction.

"Natasha! Your little errand boys are back from the slave trade." Victor lounged on the sofa in her closet, while Tasha bustled around trying to find something to wear. At the moment she had her jet black hair twisted into a bun and her pale slim body was covered by a navy blue floral silk robe. Tasha and Victor were never really a thing; they just liked to fuck around.

It was then that a tall handsome man was dragged into the room by two burly men. The two were shorter than the handsome man, but they were overbuilt with muscle, something Tasha had come to love. They dropped the man off and left the room without another word.

"What is your name?" The man looked up. His chocolate brown eyes glared at Tasha. This was the first time any blood whore had even dared to look her directly in the eyes without her telling them too. She knew that this one man would be the very undoing of her, not even Victor treating her roughly could compare.

"Obey her boy. Or you will soon come to regret it…" Victor returned the man's glare.

"Dimitri Belikov. I watched over the royal, Ivan Zeklos, before the world went to hell, and you all turned Dhampirs into your blood slaves." His voice was rough with uncontrolled hatred. This man, Dimitri, sounded like he would be a violent fuck… And Natasha never said no to a good fucking.

"Victor, leave us."

"Sampling the goods on your own, are you? Very well, tell me how he is later then." Victor went to get his coat and exited quietly; leaving Tasha and her new toy alone in the vast closet. Dimitri looked completely uncomfortable when Tasha moved away from him suddenly.

She went to one of the racks and pulled out various belts. Tasha quickly decided which one she would use and pulled it off of the rack before returning to Dimitri.

"You know your place, right?" Dimitri growled, but nodded. 'Of course he does… That makes my job easier.'

Tasha snatched both of his bound wrists and pulled them to the wooden bar behind the man's head. She wrapped the belt tightly around Dimitri's wrists and the bar before securing it so it was snug. She ran her fingers through Dimitri's long dark brown hair and pulled on it so that his face was tilted up to hers. Smiling, she leaned down and claimed his lips. Dimitri struggled, trying to get away from her, but it was no use; she controlled him now.

He was already naked, so she began to stroke his manhood, letting him feel her nails on the upward strokes. Dimitri was already beginning to harden; soft moans escaped him before he could put an end to it. Tasha held him in her hand and started to pick up the pace. She began to squeeze a little when she reached the tip; Tasha lowered her head, something she had never done (not even with Victor), and licked his tip lightly. She took him into her mouth and sucked while her left hand massaged his balls and her right gently twisted his shaft on the down stroke.

Dimitri was panting, letting out desperate whines and bucking his hips up. All too soon, Tasha lifted herself up from his cock. She straddled his lap and began to tease the tip of his penis with her pussy. Dimitri started to fight against the bonds again, as he desperately tried to bury his flesh in her tight heat.

Natasha moaned when she sank down. She lifted herself up, only to slam back down on Dimitri's cock. The belt loosened only a fraction, but Dimitri was suddenly able to get free. He tore away from the belt and placed his wide palms against Tasha's sides. He lifted her up and slammed her down just as he thrusted up. Tasha was being treated roughly and she began to moan wantonly.

She moved her hands to Dimitri's hair and tangled them there while she held onto him while he pounded into her again and again.

"Fuck!" The word was drawn out into a moan. Dimitri flipped them over so that Tasha was on top. Her hair came loose from the bun and fell against her face in knots. Dimitri roughly brushed them back and stared up into her blue eyes that were half closed in pleasure.

"Dimitri! Oh god… more! Harder, faster! God… please!" The words were tumbling out now. She bounced up and down trying to get him deeper in her. Her walls began to tighten around Dimitri and his thrusts became more erratic. He pushed her back to the ground and slammed in and out of her.

The large room filled with all of Natasha's finest dresses and outfits smelled strongly of sex. The sound of panting and flesh slapping filled the room and Tasha squeezed her eyes shut reveling in the divine pleasure this man gave her.

'I'll have to thank the boys for buying this… Russian God!' Her heart thundered in her chest as her climax overtook her.

"DIMITRI!" The screams were heard all throughout the palace. Dimitri shouted wordlessly after her as he came inside of her. Dimitri pulled away, horrified by his actions. Tasha smiled lazily.

"I'm not letting you go now… You will be mine forever…" She trailed her nails over his thigh before touching the sensitive underside of his cock. He jumped at the touch and his gaze slid to hers.

"I am no ones." His words were firm, but his tone begged to be fucked.

Victor was still uneasy around Dimitri. He apparently hadn't left the palace before hearing them 'find pleasure in one another'.

But the bigger problem was that Dimitri was mad. He wasn't allowed to feel anything but love, lust, and raw desire for her. The little monster was acting out and Tasha needed to teach him a lesson. And then, he would truly belong to her.

**Author's Note: Chapter 2 is out. Obviously you know that if you are reading this. I'd just like to point out that this is the first story I have ever done for FanFiction. I am new to this and to writing this type of story (porn). I really do hope that the reader's will tell me what I can improve on and what needs to go immediately. I would really appreciate some constructive criticism and not just flames! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please Review!**

**-Lolita**


	3. Chapter 3

It was time to let Dimitri know who the master was and who the blood whore was. He would obey her no matter what. She had Edmund, one of her errand boys, go and pick up a few simple supplies. Tasha went back to her throne room and waited for Victor to come back from his own duty. When he finally appeared, he came back with a box filled with toys for her fun.

"What in the world do you plan to do to the boy, Natasha? I thought you had him under control." Victor seemed irritated; it was obvious he took a peek in the box.

"I'm going to show him he cannot deny me what I want. I am the queen here… he is only a pathetic slut who brings me pleasure. He has to learn that I am the only one who will ever treat him to pleasure." With that, Tasha walked away to find Edmund. He stood by the dark room door waiting for her.

Together they walked in, the light snoring making Tasha smile. Dimitri was sleeping. Perfect.

Quietly, she sent Edmund away and opened up both boxes. In the first, from Victor, was a whip, a new ball gag, another blindfold, a pair of steel handcuffs (lined with a soft material to cushion any pain they may cause), cock rings in various sizes, two leg spreaders, and a set of nipple clamps. The second box contained two bottles of lube, a string of anal beads, two butt plugs, and four different dildos. The first was rigid, the second spiraled, the third long and smooth, and the last was also long and smooth, but could also be turned on so that it vibrated and wiggled. Dimitri was definitely going to learn…

Tasha undid the rope around his wrists. They were red and irritated; she rubbed in lotion to soothe any pain. Then she cuffed him with the new handcuffs. She took the cock rings out of the second box and placed them lightly on the ground. A bottle of lube and the vibrating dildo soon followed.

She bent around and lightly caressed Dimitri rod. It was barely hard, but just imagining the blood swelled weight pounding into her snatch made Tasha's mouth water and her pussy tingle. With one hand massaging his balls and the other carefully sliding the cock rings onto his cock, Tasha smiled. She finished it quickly and looked to see Dimitri still sleeping, only stirring lightly when she had tugged too hard or too much. She then carefully pulled his legs apart and placed the spreader bar between them before attaching them snugly to his legs. Dimitri's ass was now upturned and very visible to her.

The queen of hearts opened the lube a poured some into her open palm to slick it onto the dildo. When it was nice and wet, she slathered the remaining lube onto his ass, making sure he would be prepared for minimal tearing. She wanted him to be writhing, whimpering, pleading, and begging not angry and in mass amounts of pain.

After his hole was prepared she got up to get the new blindfold. She attached it to him and smiled at her work. Dimitri was just barely awake now. He was shifting around lightly trying to get a more comfortable position now that his ass was on display.

Tasha took the vibrating dildo and took in the size. It was eight inches long and five inches around. She chuckled before sliding it into Dimitri's glistening hole. He jerked at the sudden pressure inside of him.

"Tasha! What is the meaning of this?" He shouted before letting out a long moan. Tasha hit the switch and it sprung to life. She could hear it whirring away inside of him. She watched in fascination as his hole spasmed around the object jammed inside of him. Dimitri's moans were getting louder, and he began to shout when Tasha took the dildo in her hand and thrusted it inside of him.

"S-s-top! T-Tasha!" He writhed and trembled as Tasha sped the thrusts up. He cried out and began to shudder. His dick was swelled up and was ready to go. She smiled to herself; she was smiling a lot today. Tasha watched as his ass tried to cling to the dildo when she took it out.

"You could be a very good cock-slut. Too bad you're already my blood whore." Tasha got up and straddled his waist rubbing her moist pussy against Dimitri's straining dick. He was crying out trying to get it in, but Tasha kept denying him access. Instead, she left him and reached inside the box again pulling out the set of nipple clamps and the whip. She rubbed Dimitri's nubs and he let out a sigh at the soft touching before yelping at the sudden pinch. She let the clamp go and flicked it once, watching Dimitri's face contort in pleasure. She attached the second and repeated the flick.

Tasha rolled the whip in her hands, grinning at the sight of Dimitri gasping and panting, moaning and whimpering. She smacked his leaking prick with the whip.

"AH!" She could just imagine Dimitri's beautiful chocolate eyes widening underneath the blindfold. She repeated this action two more times, each swat getting harder. Tasha placed herself between his spread legs and thrusted the dildo in again. Harder and harder, then faster, then pushed it farther in.

"OH!" Dimitri cried out when Natasha found his prostate. Once it was located, she began to pound into it with the vibrating dildo. He kept shouting and then began to sob out. Dimitri's cock looked painfully swollen and it was trapped in the multitude of the rings. He looked like he was going to die.

"Who owns you Dimitri? Mind, body, and soul? If you answer right, I'll let you cum. I won't get mad. But, you have to obey now or else next time you won't cum. I'll take away all the toys and let you stay trapped in that cock ring begging to find release. I can promise you that much Dimitri."

He nodded, words tumbling out, begging to let him cum, that he would do anything for her. She grinned and pulled the dildo out. Dimitri whimpered at the loss. She removed the blindfold to find wide lust blown eyes. Tasha took off the cock rings and Dimitri's sobbing got louder and his body trembled.

Tasha sank down, letting his swollen prick fill her up. She bounced up and down on his swollen member, throwing in little twists and turns to make him moan. Dimitri came inside her, thrusting up so that it was unleashed deep inside of her. She leaned in and bit Dmitri's shoulder for the first time, letting the warm liquid sate her thirst. She released the wound and looked into Dimitri's eyes.

"You are mine."

**Author's Note: This is the third chapter of Queen of Hearts. I hope you enjoyed. I'm sorry that it's so short, but please review!**

**-Lolita**


	4. Chapter 4

"So good… mmmm!" Dimitri was currently pounding into me, making it difficult to focus on anything other than his slick cock forcing its way inside of me. While he pulverized away at me, Victor knocked on the door.

"Natasha, we have to talk. There are many who are- What the hell are you doing?" Victor's eyes turned red and his fangs slid down staring at Dimitri fucking me senseless. He crossed the room in a hurry, looking as if he was going to tear off Dimitri's head.

"Victor….," The name slipping from me in a heavy moan, "Dimitri is only being a good boy…" I thrusted backwards to get more of Dimitri's cock into my sopping pussy. Victor glared at the two of us fucking each other.

"There are people questioning you Natasha. The Queen of Diamonds is taking a stand against blood whores. She wants them to become our protectors again and not our toys… Something must be done!" It was getting harder to hear Victor as I lost myself in the sweet length of Dimitri's manhood.

He'd pull it out to just the tip, then slam into me and repeat. His long fingers were prodding at my cunt too. He liked to slide them in with his monster of a dick. Dimitri picked me up and swung me around so that he was lying down and I had to fuck myself onto him. For a blood whore, he was sure to get the most pleasure for himself as well.

He came inside me with a shout, and my body trembled from my high and then I collapsed over my blood whore.

I excused myself from Dimitri to talk privately with Victor. Closing the doors, I heard him sigh with relief.

"Although I'm glad that you found someone that suits your needs, I've been quite lonely without you love." Victor pressed against me and let his hands travel against my sides. The little king thought that he could have me after I had been so thoroughly pleased by Dimitri.

Victor moved away from me again, "Well, my boys seem to think they have found a suitable whore for me. I can only hope though. From what I hear, she is still fresh. The girl has never been bitten or touched. At least I know that I will be the only one to sully her."

"Yes, yes Victor. Wasn't there something more pressing you wanted to tell me?" He nodded before going into a full description of our problem.

The Queen of Diamonds and the King of Clovers were starting a new movement. They wanted to outlaw using Dhampirs as blood whores and have the little sluts go back to protecting us. It was a ridiculous idea. They thought that they could stand against over half of the Moroi community? I would have to try and persuade the King of Clovers to side with us. He was so easily distracted by women that wore next to nothing. He would be very easy.

"Very well, let them try to outlaw our new lifestyle. They will only aggravate the Moroi. Besides, our little Clover boy is easily motivated by entertaining and exposed young women." I smiled at the look of shock on Victor's face. We would win. There would be no other way.

She was in pain. The slave traders had dragged her out of her home in Montana and put her on a plane to Virginia. Her head was pounding from the constant shouting, her body ached from being thrown everywhere; in short, she was not having a good day.

"I have one hundred dollars for this beautiful young blood whore! Looks like an exotic princess, probably tastes better! She has never been bitten and she's still a virgin; all yours for a low starting price of one hundred dollars!" The tall grubby man lifted the young girl up. Her body was exposed to the crowd of ravenous vampires and they all began to shout out.

"Two hundred"

"Five Hundred"

"Nine hundred"

"Three thousand"

"I'll buy her for two million."

The voice belonged to a younger looking girl. Her face was covered over by a white scarf and she wore a shimmering gray dress. She looked out of place amongst all of the men. But just as the grubby man, Granger, was about to pass the blood whore over, a loud voice rose up.

"We are the servants of the King of Spades. In exchange for the blood whore, we'll give you five million. And you'll agree to this offer, because if you don't, the King of Spades will be visiting you soon." The man smiled at Granger.

"Alright, this blood whore has been sold to the delightful young man in the black leather jacket!" Granger passed over the blood whore, took the money and went back to the slave trade auction.

While, the young girl with dark brown eyes and long brown hair was being loaded into the van, the girl in the scarf glared.

Soon the van was gone and everyone carried on with their business. The girl pulled back the scarf and let it fall to the pavement. Her platinum blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders as her jade green eyes starred off the way the van had disappeared. She shook her head in frustration and went to join her errand boy, Mason. They returned to her bright yellow Porsche and drove off toward the palace that resided over the southeast hill. The Queen of Diamonds had made her move.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry it's short again… I will try to make the next one longer, but no promises. I hope you enjoyed chapter 4. Please review!**

**-Lolita**


	5. Chapter 5

Tasha was sprawled out on her throne picking at her nails and listening to the whines shoot out from Dimitri's mouth. He was currently gagged and bound, stuck writhing on the floor trying to get more of the sweet pressure from Tasha's favorite vibrating dildo. She nudged the back of his head with the heel of her strappy, black, open-toed stilettos. Dimitri looked up at her with big pleading eyes and she giggled before striking his left cheek hard with the same heel.

He toppled over and whined, blood welling up where the heel had cut him.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bought you. You can be so useless at the best of times… I'll make you useful." She hollered out to Edmund who scampered to her quickly, not wanting to displease her further.

"Go and get me the special little treat I had been saving. It's in the dark room, third shelf behind the nipple clamps and candles." Edmund's face flushed. He knew what his lady got up to with Dimitri, but he had never seen it firsthand. She had only tried to force him to have intercourse with her in public once, and that had ended in an argument and Dimitri's inevitable punishment.

He returned to her with a clear glass box. Inside was a double sided dildo gag. Dimitri's ass clenched at the sight of it. 'She's not going to… She is…'

Taking it out and setting the box down carefully, Tasha moved slowly to Dimitri. Her movements were calculating, trying to figure out whether Dimitri was excited or terrified. She would guess terrified. He squirmed trying to wiggle his way out of the rope, but inside he only pushed the dildo inside of him deeper, managing to (_finally_) get it to rub up deliciously against his prostate. He shouted and cried out from the sudden jolt of pleasure and when he opened his eyes up again, Tasha was in front of him.

She replaced the red ball gag with the black double ended dildo gag; she pushed down on the tip with her finger and listened to erotic sound of Dimitri gagging and struggling to swallow down air. She pulled him up by the straps securing the gag in place and dragged him back to her throne.

"You have a choice. You can either make me a very happy person on your own, or I can take what I want from you and leave you lying in pain. Either way, I get what I want. What do you want Dimitri?" Tasha was now perched on the throne, spreading her legs on the arm rests and pulling her skirt out of the way, so that Dimitri would have easier access.

It turns out, Dimitri didn't want to be raped or skull fucked into submission today, so he pressed the opposite end of the dildo into her glistening folds. Tasha moaned and her eyes rolled back into her head. Although Tasha didn't mind her errand boy watching, Dimitri did. He felt overexposed to Tasha let alone her little servants.

Dimitri began to pick up the pace pushing into the Queen's pink slit and sucking on his end of the dildo, that was currently making it very hard for him to breathe. He continued to pound into her, and not long after did she close her legs and shove him the ground.

Natasha swung her body around so that her pussy was still filled with the dildo, but now, she had Dimitri's swollen cock lying against his stomach. It was just begging to be sucked on. So she took his cock in her palm and began massaging it. Dimitri was trying to find the right angle to continue to fuck Tasha, when she took charge and slammed down on the dildo. She moaned and tossed her head back, enjoying the feeling of silicone sliding in and out of her slick heat.

"Damn you Dimitri. Out of all the whores I have ever had, why is it that you are the greatest? I've only sipped your blood once, and yet my body burns for you. You stupid, little cock sucking whore!"

In her anger, she began to jerk Dimitri's shaft painfully, making him wince. Even Edmund winced when he saw her drag her nails of the sensitive flesh. Still, Dimitri came hard… but sadly Tasha did not.

"Edmund, string him up in the dark room. He has yet to please me properly…" She got off of Dimitri and moved aside to let Edmund drag him by the hair to the dark room. 'My sweet blood whore… I'll make you hate me. But in the end, you'll want me so bad; you'll be on your knees begging.'

After Tasha cleaned herself up, she left to go to her bedroom. There sat Victor and an unfamiliar girl on the king sized bed. She was small, but beautiful in the exotic dessert princess sort of way. She had big brown eyes that seemed overly cautious and long pin straight chocolate hair to match. 'So this is Victor's whore? She must be new. I don't remember ever seeing her…'

"Natasha, so nice of you to join us my dear," Victor moved off of the bed and snatched the girl by her arm, "This little delight is Rosemarie Hathaway. She is the daughter of the rebel leader Janine Hathaway and the Moroi traitor Ibrahim Mazur. And if the rumors are correct, I just barely bought her before the Queen of Diamonds did; how lucky!" He seemed overjoyed with the little brat and her stature amongst the rest of the blood whores. Tasha's blue eyes turned icy.

"And since when did we listen to rumors, Victor? Aren't we supposed to be the ones controlling the whispers amongst the imbeciles outside of our beautiful palace walls?" Victor's smile dimmed and he thought over what she had said. Of course they were above the rumors of the townspeople, but the thought of one upping the Queen of Diamonds made Victor giddy.

"Yes, I suppose so. But that doesn't matter. Rose has never been bitten and is still a virgin. All mine for the taking." And with that, he flung Rose to the floor, letting her arms drag out on the carpet leaving bright red welts.

Natasha smiled and Victor joined. It was obvious who ran the show. Even in bed, Natasha dominated Victor.

"Very well, I only came in here to grab a coat. I plan on spending quite a lot of time in the dark room tonight, and I have to keep it cold so Dimitri doesn't get any ideas about coming too soon." Natasha grabbed a random jacket and winked to Victor as she left.

"Who's Dimitri?" Rose's small voice echoed in the large room. Her eyes stayed downcast and her hair fell in front of her face. She hid behind like a young girl would do to a curtain when struck with stage fright.

Victor took one look at her and backhanded her across the room. His long legs crossed the space in seconds. Victor leaned down next to Rose, his green eyes watching her brown ones.

"You are only allowed to speak when given permission. You've never been owned by someone, but that is how it will be from now on. Do you understand?" He smacked her again and she began to sob loudly.

"You brainless dumb bitch!" Victor roared before shoving her head to one side exposing the soft, tender, unmarked flesh. His fangs slid down and he snarled before tearing into Rose. He sucked from her while she struggled to get away. Rose's cries of agony soon turned to whimpers of pleasure. She stopped fighting and pressed herself against Victor, pulling him in closer before sliding her eyes shut and welcoming the oncoming darkness.

The Queen of Diamonds sat in front of three very powerful people; the King of Clovers, the rebel Dhampir, and the 'traitor' Moroi. This was the time for a rebellion and a revolution. No more blood whores, no more slave trades, and certainly no more of the Queen of Hearts.

**Author's Note: I was uploading the four chapters up and as I'm writing this, the views go from zero to five to 25 for each chapter. WOW! Thank you! **

**And a special thank you to **_**Only The Lucky**_** and **_**petiteTRINH**_**. Thank you for reviewing this story. It makes me smile when I know someone is enjoying my writing. I really am new to writing this type of story… But I was so nervous because I was used to writing so… explicitly… I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**I honestly don't think I can write the chapters any longer than this… I'm sorry for those who might have been hoping for longer chapters. Please review, and thank you!**

**PS: I'll be working on chapter six as soon as this is posted! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Dimitri was strung up in the dark room. His wrists were chained to the ceiling and his ankles bound to the cement below him. The dark room had changed a lot since his last time trapped in here. The walls were still painted grey and it was pitch black, except for what little light the red lights provided. They were hung up on the borders of the room and made things seem creepier than they actually were; now, the lights were off. But, Dimitri still knew that there was an entire shelf lining the back wall. The shelf held all of Tasha's toys; the whips, gags, clamps, paddles, dildos, cock rings, and other ghastly things she used to bring Dimitri to a filthy, panting, wet mess. The dark room was also freezing cold when Tasha wasn't present. She normally didn't put anything on when she took him here. Tasha didn't need clothes for the things she planned to do to Dimitri.

It felt like hours before Tasha finally entered the dark room. Dimitri was completely cleaned; his ass was sore, but ready, his mouth been wiped of any cum or drool, and Edmund had even scrubbed the dried blood from various occasions. Tasha dragged her nails across his broad chest, lightly flicking his nipples. She lowered her lips to the left nipple, pulling on it softly with her teeth. Her nails began to dig harder into his flesh before outright tearing it. Dimitri yelped at the study pain.

Tasha pressed her lips against his chest, up to his neck, and straight to his lips. They were dry and chapped; the bottom one split open from rough treatment. Dimitri moaned into her mouth, happy that she was going to treat him nicely. He knew she would because she hadn't gotten the tarp out to stop his blood from staining the concrete slab. His cock began to harden and Tasha palmed his erection, helping ease the ache of sexual frustration.

"Do you want to cum? Would you like to cum inside my pussy again? How about my mouth, or better, all over me? Yes… You're a very dirty slut Dimitri. I don't think you've been good enough to me. I let you get away with so much… Whores aren't supposed to seek their own pleasure. Their purpose in life is to serve their masters. You've been pleasuring yourself through me… That's not what good whores do…"

Tasha left Dimitri there, thrusting into the cold air, waiting for her to just let him cum. It was all he wanted. She went around him and let her fingers brush him ass. He moaned and pushed back against her hand. Tasha's eyes surveyed the damage done to her whore's greedy little hole; he was just a little loose, which meant no more lube or prep for him. Dimitri needed to earn that kind of treatment.

She left his ass and looked for a suitable paddle and dildo. She grabbed the bright pink rubber dildo with prominent ridges that lined the sides. She placed it between Dimitri's ass cheeks and aimed the paddle up. He groaned, still sensitive, at the rush of pressure down below.

Tasha kept smacking away at his ass until it was bright red. Dimitri was sniffling, trying to hide that this was painful. She sent one more thrust his way before stopping. She smacked him hard with her bare hand and he howled out.

"No! Tasha…" He had made a mistake. He was only to call her mistress, or master even, but never by her name. Enraged she tore the dildo from his hole and chucked it at his head. She went back to the shelf and grabbed a set of nipple clamps with attached weights, a single sided dildo gag, and a strap on. She was going to make him scream.

With the nipple clamps in place, she attached five pound weights then let them go. The stretched his nipples out before clunking to the floor. She grabbed three pound weights and attached them. They stretched, but they didn't fall. She jerked Dimitri's head towards her and shoved the dildo in his mouth, strapping it on so tightly, he was already choking and gagging on its length and width. The strap on was already hooked around her body and she angled herself over Dimitri's twitching hole; she thrusted in deep, listening to the suckling noises that came out of Dimitri. She grasped his hair and began to slide the silicone dick in and out of his wrecked passage. To make matters worse, with the hand that wasn't yanking on Dimitri's hair, she slapped his painfully red ass. She let this go on for about an hour before she stopped.

His ass was sore and looked ready to bruise, his hole was clenching and unclenching around the dick, drool was dripping out of the corners of his mouth, and Dimitri looked pretty fucked out in general. He still had a painful hard on though. Tasha caressed it with her fingers, and pulled out of Dimitri's abused hole. He let out a wrecked groan and slumped as far down as the chains would let him. She took him in her mouth and sucked hard.

Tasha unhooked the chains so that Dimitri fell to the concrete with a thud. His head was buzzing from all of the sexual torment. He no longer felt that he could enjoy the dangerous side of Tasha. She removed his gag and tried to keep his drool on it. She carefully sank it into Dimitri's ass and he jerked, the flesh torn and bruised deep inside him.

Tasha settled her legs on either side of his head and pressed her dripping cunt to his mouth. She rubbed it against his mouth and his chin, making sure his stubble tickled her clit. She sucked harder on the weeping cock in front of her, hoping for a taste of his delicious salty, tangy cum.

With renewed strength, Dimitri grabbed Tasha's hips and pressed them down against his face. Her cum was everywhere when Dimitri licked, nibbled, and sucked on the soft pink flesh. Tasha trembled at his force. She gave up pleasuring him to enjoy the sensations. Dimitri was fucking her with two fingers as he bit down lightly on her clit.

Tasha shrieked expletives and moaned louder than she had before. She came on his face and he swallowed all of it down. She pulled her up so that she was lying against his chest before bringing his cut wrist to her mouth.

"Drink…" And for once, Tasha did as she was told. Dimitri deserved that much…

Rose woke up back at the King of Spades palace bedroom. Her throat burned and her neck felt stiff and sore. There was red blood crusting, so she went to the bathroom to scrub it away and properly bandage it.

"I'm sorry miss, but Lord Dashkov has requested your presence in the throne room." It was the boy with curly red hair and blue eyes, Mason. He seemed nice enough, but Rose still didn't feel right around him. Probably because she was butt naked and he was eyeing her like a piece of candy. She nodded, grabbed a random item (a crème silk robe that went down to her mid-thigh), and left the room with him.

He led her down to Victor who smiled and greeted her kindly.

"Natasha has invited us to dinner tonight. You'll be in the whores' room with her chew toy, Dimitri. Don't cause any trouble Rose, or what I did last night will seem like a reward. Behave yourself and submit to me; those are my only rules. Understand?"

She nodded her hair swishing with her movements. Victor gestured her to go over to him, and she did. Parting her hair away from the bruised and bandaged bite mark he kissed her. Victor lifted up the bandage and tore it from her neck, the sudden assault causing her blood to escape again. It dripped down her neck and before it could go any further, Victor's lips attached to the wound. Once he had taken enough blood, leaving Rose lightheaded and giggly, he kissed her again.

"Don't hide this mark. It shows that you are mine. Now, how about some pancakes?"

"Victor and that slut, Rose, will be here tonight. Please tell me we have something decent for Dimitri to wear?" Edmund or Eddie Dimitri had come to call him, bustled around before settling in front of Tasha with a white button up and black slacks; there was also a black button up silk vest and silk tie to go along with it. He left the room to go and help the rest of the servants with their duties.

"Your are to behave yourself and show that you have been trained well. If you disappoint me Dimitri, you will be in for hell when they leave. Understand?" He nodded, pleasing Tasha.

"Yes, mistress…"

**Author's Not: A little longer that the last one. I'm very happy to see everyone enjoying this. It makes me smile. So, thank you to **_**Only The Lucky**_** for reviewing again and thank you to **_**RozaRocks**_**! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and I may continue on still… I haven't decided if I'd start chapter seven yet. I'm not tired, but I feel that sleep would probably be best… Oh well, two hours of sleep will be enough, I hope… :) Please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

It was going to be a very stressful night, Rose could already tell. Victor was busy filling out different documents and agreeing to several slave traders that he would exchange the old and useless for some new faces. Surprisingly, Mason and I became friends after Victor let me go back upstairs. We ran into each other twice and he helped me pick out an outfit to wear around the house. He was a sweetheart, but I knew it wouldn't last long.

Victor had smacked me around after seeing me laughing so happily with Mason. Mason was currently working with the staff, not realizing what was going on.

"You truly are a slut. Do you plan on sleeping with him? I certainly hope not… When we get back from this party, you can be sure that I will take you and make you scream my name till you go hoarse. That's a promise Rosie." He stormed off to get dressed. She sank to my knees and started crying. Rose didn't want to lose her virginity to some creep. She wanted her soul mate to take her carefully and gently. Rose wanted to be able to know that this person would take care of her forever. She had no promises that Victor would fulfill of that, and even if he did, she didn't love him.

The slave traders had taken her from her mother's safe house. A friend of hers had gone missing awhile back. Rose barely remembered the man, but knew he was tall and handsome. She wondered if her soul mate would look like that. Rose had very little time to think about the past. Soon the room was filled by other slaves that had come in to clean her for the party.

They scrubbed her body of dried blood and sprayed her down with a floral candy perfume. Then they dried her off and threw her into the massive closet Victor had made for her. They dressed her in a tight black strapless dress with ballet flats. The slaves curled her hair and put makeup on her. Rose looked stunning and she felt ten times lighter now that she had been bathed. Mason came back with another message.

"Victor would like to see you in the cellar. You should go quickly, he seemed angry…" Rose hurried off trying to find the cellar. Finally she found it, but when she entered it was pitch black and Victor was nowhere to be seen.

"Sir? Master…? Are you here?" Two hands reached out and cocooned her to someone's chest. Victor's lips bit down on her ear.

"Oh my little virgin, this will be our new play room. We'll have so much fun here, I promise." Victor's left hand caressed her side, while his right travelled down to the edge of her dress before pulling it up and pushing her black lacy thong down. He chuckled softly in her ear. Victor pressed his index finger and his middle finger against Rose's nub and began to rub it sensuously. He dragged his fingers back up to Rose's mouth and thrusted them in, wetting them before returning them to her clit.

The soft rub of Victor's fingers was too much and Rose through her head back against Victor's shoulder. He held onto her while whispering his dirty ideas to her.

"Just wait, you think this is good? Wait till my hard cock is pounding away at your pussy. Think of all the positions and types of good sex we can have…" Victor trailed off as he shifted around Rose. He got her to hold up her dress while he pushed her thong around her ankles. He licked her pussy lips before spreading them apart with his thumbs. Victor took in her virgin pink flesh and flattened his tongue. He dragged it from her clit to her vagina and back. He was surprised to find it wet and dripping.

He dipped his tongue into her hole and thrusted it in and out. Rose began shiver and trembled, her legs too wobbly to keep her standing. Victor pushed her to the ground and started to stroke her clit again. Rose was moaning and pushing into Victor's face trying to get his tongue deeper inside. His earlier anger forgotten, Victor just wanted to lay claim to her now, but they needed to go. In fact, they were already late…

"What the hell is taking Victor so long? That little rat was supposed to be here by now… You don't think he's fucking that whore, do you? I'm going to scalp him!" Just as the words were muttered, Edmund opened the door to reveal Victor dressed a black button up, matching black slacks, and a red silk tie. His slutty little bitch dressed her part well. Her face was flushed and she looked slightly out of breath. 'Damn him. He goes and has sex with the fucking whore… and I have to wait till after dinner to take mine… Figures.'

Eddie leads Rose of to the dark room where'll she be spending time with Dimitri. When she walks in, all she can think of is the cellar room. Victor described it just like this; a sexual playroom. The dark room has newly bolted manacles in the corner and a sex swing dangling from where the chains used to be. Rose is awestruck by the collection of dildos, gags, whips, and other delightful toys. She whimpers when she sees the knives, another new addition to the dark room, and the costumes put in a trunk. Her heart thumps faster when she runs her fingers over the leather of the sex swing.

"Who are you?" The voice makes her jump. Its seductive tone makes her mouth water with hunger and makes her pussy wetter with anticipation. 'If only Victor had a voice like that. I wouldn't mind submitting to him…'

"You like my voice?" Rose flushed; she didn't realize she had spoken aloud.

"It's alluring. I like it very much." Dimitri growled and shoved Rose against the wall, next to the manacles.

"Your body… it's beautiful. What is your name?" Rose looks up and bats her eyes, "Rose. Rose Hathaway." Dimitri instantly regrets doing this to the young Hathaway, but he cannot find it in him to stop. He presses against her, hungry for the touch of someone less demanding. He lets his wide palms roam her body, squeezing lightly at her clothed mounds. He lifts her arms up and pulls the dress off. The dress wouldn't have looked as good with a bra and Victor didn't put her thong back on, so Rose stood in front of Dimitri in only a pair of black ballet flats.

His hands encased her breasts, tweaking her nipples before rolling over them with his tongue. He sucked the left while massaging the right and vise versa. Rose was full out moaning. She had never really felt this good, not even when Victor sucked on her pussy. Dimitri dropped to his knees and pressed his face against Rose's cunt. With one hand he cupped her ass, and the other parted her pussy lips so he could get a taste of her. Her fluids dropped onto his tongue and he swore that no one, especially not Tasha, had ever tasted so good. He pressed into her further and sucked the juices from her. She was trembling again, but her legs collapsed. She landed onto of Dimitri.

"Why is that I'm the only one naked? I want to feel you as well." Dimitri stripped off his vest and loosened his tie. He yanked the shirt over his head and Rose tugged down his slacks. Dimitri was barefoot so it was easy enough to get his pants down. Rose was just about to start tugging Dimitri's briefs down when he pulled Rose's wrists together. He used his tie to bind them together. He threw her over his shoulder and walked across the room and through a door hidden in the shadows.

The door led into a much smaller, warmer room. It was lit well and provided a bed, but some of the toys were neatly put away on the shelf like in the dark room. Dimitri threw her onto the bed and stripped out of his briefs. He pulled over her flats and spread her legs wide.

With all of the fingering and tonguing, Rose was well prepped. Dimitri stroked his swelling cock before lining it up to Rose's hole. He plunged in, didn't want to waste a moment more, and tore through her hymen. Rose shrieked loudly and Dimitri pulled her to his chest, kissing away her tears.

"I'm sorry; I figured Victor would have already… Oh no. He'll kill you! Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin Roza? He'll know that you were fooling around on him… He won't stand for this…."

"I don't care! I want you to be my first, please? You're nice to me."

"We haven't exactly gotten to know each other. All I know is your name and your mother. You know nothing about me," Rose looked up, confusion in her eyes.

"You knew my mom?" Dimitri didn't reply, instead he thrusted into her again. Rose gasped, still in pain from her tearing. Plunging his dick into her moistened pussy, he groaned.

Dimitri took his right index finger and middle finger and thrusted them softly into Rose's mouth. When they were nice and wet, he brushed over her ass again.

"Relax. Trust me, Lord Dashkov will want to use this too. If I can stretch you out a bit, it won't hurt as much. Don't focus on the pain, focus on the pleasure." His voice was hypnotic, and Rose felt compelled to listen to him.

He pushed his index finger past the tightened ring off her ass and then pushed his middle in beside it. He began thrusting his fingers in lightly. When he pushed deep into her pussy, he drove his fingers in too. He timed his thrusts and slowly started to fasten the pace. He wanted her to cum, he wanted to see her ride out the high of her first orgasm; in fact, he needed it.

Her head thrown back, eyes blown wide with lust was what made Dimitri burst inside Rose, covering her insides with his sperm. Rose let a long moan of, "Oh FUCK!" She trembled; both holes clenching and unclenching Dimitri.

"Dimitri, Rose; dinner is over! It's time to leave

They were so screwed…

**Author's Note: There! Rose and Dimitri met and got it on instantly. Though, that's only going to make Tasha and Victor pissed with the both of them. Let's just say there's a lot of non-con and m/s in the next chapter… maybe some flashbacks? And then, of course, the next chapter will include a little bit more information about the King of Clovers (can you guess how it is?) and the Queen of Diamonds (I'm pretty sure you all know how it is… but still guess!)**

**Again, look forward to some serious punishment chapters! Rose and Dimitri were being bad whores and their masters aren't going to be very pleased with them…**

**Did you notice Mason and Eddie? I did ;) Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Dimitri got off of Rose and walked back into the dark room. He scooped up their clothes and both scrambled to get them on. They could here Victor and Tasha grow more impatient.

Dimitri's cum was slowly dripping to Rose's legs and she shivered in pleasure. 'It was his cum that had filled her. It was Dimitri that was inside of her.' when Dimitri saw it leaking out he pulled her into him and slid down her body till he faced her pink slit. Driving his tongue into her pink folds, he sucked out his cum.

Rose moaned when the warmth left her. He stood up again and brought their mouths together, transferring the salty liquid with a wave of his tongue.

And that's when the door opened. They didn't back away from each other, but they did look somewhat ashamed. Just barely ashamed though.

Rose is happy to have had Dimitri be her first. Dimitri is proud to have found something, someone, better than Tasha. Someone who doesn't torture him or ask him to go against what he wants; who doesn't dangle him over the edge alone, but takes him down with them with open arms and gentle love.

The moment doesn't last. Victor is furious. He strides up and snatches Rose's long hair; and if Dimitri thought he could help her, he was wrong. Because Tasha is on him in a second, throwing him against the walls. She grabs for the whip on the shelf and all hell breaks loose.

Rose is struggling to throw herself at Dimitri to protect him from the blows. Victor is smacking Rose back, gripping her shoulders so hard they are already forming bruises. Tasha is pissed, the gashes and cuts spewing blood making her hungry and she tosses aside the whip to drink from him.

"No! Leave him alone!" Rose struggled against Victor's hold, but not having the strength to completely pull away from him. She does get close; right before he can secure her wrist again; she lunges forward and grabs Tasha's hair yanking her back. Tasha turned around and backhanded Rose. She tumbled into Victor's arms. He takes Rose out of the dark room and drags her across half of the palace before stopping.

"You idiot! I didn't buy you so that you could sleep with another. I hope you're proud of yourself. I don't have to be careful with you now. Enjoy what little peace you have left in this little pathetic dream you keep pretending to live in. I bought you and so now you are my property!"

-o.o-

The Queen of Diamonds stared out past the valley. As of recently she had taken up residence in the King of Clovers palace. He was awfully kind to her and he didn't have blood whores. He had Dhampirs who worked for him to help reshape the community. The only downside to staying with him was the constant drinking and smoking.

Like now, she could hear his footsteps and smell the alcohol roll off of his body like his own person cologne. He walked up behind her and let his left hand fall on her shoulder.

"Ms. Dragomir, zoning out are you? What a bad habit…" He clucked his tongue at her. She stared up at him, her jade eyes narrowing at his emerald ones. He brushed back his messy flop of auburn hair, smiling at Lissa's expression.

"Touchy…"

"Ivashkov, don't you have other issues to be worrying about, like your meeting with Natasha Ozera?"

"It's cute that you think that I worry about you… And no, she's rescheduled. It's going to be continued later tonight. Someone was screaming in the background; I believe that means someone has crossed her…" Lissa rolled her eyes, "Someone always crosses her. It isn't very hard. Do you know who?"

Adrian grinned. He knew very well who it was and what that person had done.

"It was our dear friend, the big Russian guardian who worked for another Moroi some odd years ago. He did something very naughty… And little Dhampir got to see the whole thing, from an angle." Lissa's eyes widened. Rose was in the Heart palace? But, then something bigger and more obvious came up.

"Dimitri Belikov is alive and living in with Natasha Ozera?" It was like a big neon sign. Tasha Ozera had one of the world's most capable Dhampirs under her, literally. What were they going to do?

"Oh please, cousin. He'll be fine. Don't you remember? Edmund Castile is over there watching over our hunk. Don't fret, in fact, relax!" Adrian left her on the balcony. The room suddenly felt coder than before, the wave of new information making her stomach do flips. 'I need to talk to Christian…'

-o.o-

It was utterly painful. Rose had deiced this from the moment Victor had shoved her into the cellar and grabbed the rope. Bondage was very uncomfortable. Rose had tears streaming down her face and her heart was still pounding after Victor had ripped off her dress and smacked her.

His words had echoed in her head and she felt the searing pain of the melted wax. He wasn't trying to make this a pleasurable experience. It definitely wasn't fun. It hurt like a bitch. Rose's arms were pulled to either side of her body. Her body was angled up and her legs were spread apart.

The cellar had the air of the dark room except for the smothering heat. Rose was frozen. She had started to think that Victor was intentionally keeping it cold.

The cellar had the shelves of toys that now seemed like torture weapons. He had different contraptions set up and scattered everywhere. And in the very back at the end of the room, was a soft plush bed that Victor would lay down in while Rose burned under the hot wax.

But that was earlier. Victor let her burn for five hours, replacing the candles when needed. Finally, Victor gave her a small mercy and pulled her down and away from the wax.

"It hurts. Please it hurts." Victor ignores her and yanked her down to a cold metal table. He attached a black leather collar to her neck and attached it to the table. He did the same to her wrists and ankles. Making sure she was properly spread he hollered out to Mason.

Mason looked unbelievably pained when he wheeled in a strange machine. Rose struggled with her bonds to see what he had brought in. It looked like a motorized box with two poles sticking out.

Victor shooed Mason out and pushed the machine right up against her. That's when it hit Rose… Victor was one fucking kinky ass guy. He set the machine so that the poles, which turned out to be dull grey dildos, pressed into her ass and pussy. Victor looked over at her.

"Enjoy the punishment, Rosie…" And with that, he turned it on. It buzzed to life, slowly pushing forward then pulling out, getting faster and faster.

"Ah… ah- ah! Eeeeeh! Oh! Victor~" Rose moaned out like a bitch in heat. The room smelled like sex and the room was filled with the sound of wet slapping of the propelled rubber slamming into her tight holes. She cried out a few more times before her back arched off the table and then collapsed back down. Her body twitched as the rubber still pounded away. It was only a matter of minutes before she started coming again.

-o.o-

It had been an hour. Tasha hadn't done anything other than drain Dimitri of a few ounces of blood every five minutes. Other than the light headed feeling, he was fine. So he sat quietly. Tasha left him alone after a phone call.

She had left Dimitri tied up with shock plates on his body. Tasha let him convulse and scream in agony while she went to grab the phone. She had sounded tense and on edge; when she returned, she turned everything off and left him alone on the bed shivering. That had been that.

So, bored out of his mind, Dimitri began to snoop. He left the dark room and found his way through the labyrinthine halls and finally came to a door. Dimitri turned the knob slowly to find a tall dark haired man combing through some papers in one of the filing cabinets. Tasha must have used this room as an office space. The man was starting to tear the room apart looking for something, when he whipped around.

"What are you doing here, Belikov?" Dimitri's tense body relaxed at the familiar voice. The dark haired man turned around, amusement lighting up his ruby red eyes. "You're supposed to be in time out."

Dimitri smiled, "Christian Ozera. It's a pleasure." His outstretched hand was grasped by Christian's pale cold one.

"How's life on the Strigio side?"

-o.o-

**Author's Note: I hope that the new PoV dividers are visible now. I'm sorry for the confusion in other chapters. If you guys want, I can go back and fix them up a bit! This chapter didn't get as graphic as I had planned, probably because my ten year old brother kept following me around and I could only write clean chapters near him.**

**Thank you to: RozaRocks, Guest (I really wish I could call you by something else), Only The Lucky, and petiteTRINH! You guys made my day and then some! Thank you for your reviews and feedback! :D**

**Thanks again, sorry for the short chapter… Please review? **

**-Lolita**


	9. Chapter 9

This wasn't supposed to be happening! Her world was crumbling beneath her feet. She couldn't get out of this horrible dream, but it wasn't like she actually wanted to. Her heart pounded in her ears and it felt like there was cotton stuffed in her mouth.

He was standing above her, his wide brown eyes leaking salty tears down his face. His lips were parted and there was a loud roar booming around them. She was there, her platinum blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, jade eyes beckoning her to stay. Then two more faces. One had incredible emerald eyes and tousled brown hair; the other crystal blue eyes, he held onto jade eyes. They seemed so familiar and it hurt Rose to ignore them. She needed to go, but they kept grabbing at her. It hurt, like nails dragging down into your skin hard enough to cut you. Your wounds weep blood. The suffering doesn't go away for her because somewhere in the back of her mind, she could feel a tugging. Rose woke up with a scream.

-o.o-

"Good, you're awake. It's almost no fun terrorizing this pussy without you crying out, begging me to stop, you little slut." Victor smirked at her and began to pound back into her, His dick filled her slick hole, but it didn't compare to Dimitri's. He leaned down on let his lips touch her breasts before capturing her left nipple and pulling, sucking it back into his mouth and massaging it with his teeth and tongue. It felt good to feed himself with her supple body. He bit Rose a few more times, scattering the bites around her body, sucking lightly and licking it softly.

He thrust in deep, all the way to the hilt before shuddering inside of her. He let loose and came inside of her. Rose struggled to keep the hot liquid from settling deep inside her. The possibility was there; Victor could get Rose pregnant… She hadn't thought about it much until after her experience with Dimitri.

Victor lifted her up and dropped her face first onto the fluffy bed that was set up in the very back of the cellar. He handcuffed her wrists to the wrought iron bars of the headboard. He spread her cheeks to look at her wet entrance had thrusted into her again. Rose muffled her screams in the pillow. He pulled out and slammed into her ass. His hands slid up her sides, one going underneath her and sliding back down to touch her clit. She jolted at the pressure of him rubbing her softly. His other hand slid all the way up to the back of her neck and yanked on her hair, tugging her against him.

"You're my little bitch. All mine; you belong to no one but me. I hope you know that you can't escape me, no matter what you do!" He pulverized her sopping wet pussy for all he was worth. His lips slid down to her neck before biting her roughly. "You'll always belong to me. This is mine…"

-o.o-

"Hello Adrian. You sure have turned into quite the stunning man. How have you been?" Natasha led Adrian into the dining room where their dinner was prepared. Her hair had been spiked at the tips and she wore makeup that accentuated the blue in her eyes. In her scanty dress, Natasha flirted her way with Adrian. 'He's as stupid as they come.' She reached over to drag her fingertip over Adrian's chest when he snatched her wrist.

"Natasha. I hope you realize I stand with Vasilisa on this. You aren't going to get me to swing for the other side." Tasha bared her teeth had pulled away.

"You little ungrateful ass; we were meant to rule the world! And all you want is to let the Dhampirs strike us down and Strigio hunt our kind till our blood flows through the street." Adrian smiled at her. She was weak…

"I'm sorry you feel that way Natasha. But, the Strigio are no longer the menace. It's you and Victor. You call the Dhampirs whores and slaves, but look at you! Sleeping around for the pure pleasure of it? Without true love? You are a slave to the bloodlust and a whore. I hope you and Victor enjoy hell. You two deserve it."

"Once you get rid of us, the Strigio will rise! They will have no other choice!" Natasha's face was flushed red with embarrassment and anger. She stormed out of the room in a huff.

"Poor, poor Tasha; you think you can escape, but you can't."

-o.o-

"Life's been good Dimitri. And you? I've heard you've seen Rose again. And that she doesn't remember you. How are you holding up?" Christian set the files down, turning his full and undivided attention over to Dimitri.

"I haven't exactly been living the dream. Your aunt hasn't been giving me the luxury treatment. Rose doesn't remember anything. It's like I never existed. She thinks that her first time was here, in one of the palace's rooms. It doesn't really make our first time sound romantic."

"Well, you did take her on the beach. Very romantic, Belikov." Christian turned back to his work and smiled widely when he found the papers he was looking for.

"Gotcha, Belikov, it was nice to see you again. I do hope that this isn't the last time we see each other."

"Don't worry. It won't be." Christian was gone in seconds and Dimitri went back to search for Eddie. It took about ten minutes to find the right hall that led to him.

"Eddie! I need you to pass a message to Mason Ashford. Please, this is very important. It has to do with Rose." That caught Eddie's attention immediately.

-o.o-

"Mine, mine, mine, mine…" He chanted the words as she thrusted in and out of his bitch. Her pussy clenched tight around his cock as she came for what seemed like he fifteenth time.

"Oh… yes baby. Keep going. Just like that Rosie. Mmmm~ your hot little pussy just loves milking me, taking in all my cum. yeah… uh… ugh!" Rose turned her head slightly and was sucked into a sloppy and wet kiss. Victor dragged his tongue across her teeth before biting down on her bottom lip.

Mason walked in at that very moment, listening to Victor cream inside of Rose. His face flushed and he almost left the room.

"Wait… come back. What is it?"

"Um… the Queen of Hearts has requested your appearance. She'd like you to be there as soon as possible." Victor grunted and got off of Rose to go get cleaned up. That left Rose with Mason, trembling and begging. Her body hurt and it tingled. She needed something, but it wasn't Victor. She wanted Dimitri to protect her, but he wasn't there and that made Rose feel unbelievably isolated.

"Hey, C'mere. I got a message for you. Eddie wanted me to tell you that Dimitri will be in 2425 Main Acre Street. He'll be waiting for you… I'll help you get out. Let's get you cleaned up…"

**Author's Note:**

**Wahoo! Another chapter out and ready to be read. I feel like a complete idiot because I reread the last chapter and it was just… wow. I had mistakes in there, but they weren't too bad since no one had commented on them.**

**So, next chapter will most likely be about why Rose doesn't remember Dimitri. Honestly this story might get confusing, but I'll try to help anyone who gets lost along the way. :)**

**Thank you for reviewing petiteTRINH and Only The Lucky! And to all the others who read! Please review!**

**-Lolita **


	10. Chapter 10

Rose couldn't feel her body. She felt weightless as Mason lifted her up from the bed to the bathroom. He set her against the clawed porcelain tub as he grabbed a few things; clothes, soap, towels, a hairbrush. Rose's eyes rolled back and she sagged. Mason started the tub without realizing Rose was losing consciousness.

-o.o-

It was just a house. Four walls, albeit four very expansive looking walls, and a roof. Rose made her way throughout the home shivering at how the dark cherry wood felt on her bare feet. Goosebumps covered her bare legs and ran up her thighs to her chest. Rose looked down for a moment and her brows knit together.

She was wearing a soft grey cashmere bathrobe and nothing else… not even panties… Rose sighed and kept walking. It became apparent that she was not the only one in this grand home, just not so soon.

There was a three car garage, a living room, laundry room, home gym, garden, kitchen and dining room on the first floor. On the second there were a rooftop garden and pool, as well as the master suite. She walked up the staircase and into the master suite. It was perfect! Everything was very simple; the walls were mocha and the floors the same dark cherry wood.

But, as said before… she was not alone. The humming coming from the bathroom was proof. Rose crouched down and scooted herself across the floor to stay out of eyesight as she tried to figure out who was in the shower.

"Roza, where are you? The water's getting cold!" Then he came out… in all his naked glory.

Dimitri Belikov.

Rose gave a squeak as she hurried out of the room, shouting out and scrambling. Dimitri grasped her wrist before she had even made it to the stairs.

"Rose, what's wrong? You seem spooked. Come on. You can tell me in the shower. We have to get ready." It was all very hard to process… Dimitri was here, and Victor? Rose didn't really care, but it was still there, in the back of her mind.

"W-wh-what?" Dimitri cocked his head to the side, his long dark hair brushing over his eyes. He smiled warmly then guided her back to the shower. Rose was pressed up against his strong chest. She dragged her fingers over the lines of his muscles as Dimitri pulled the robe off.

His hands went to cup her rear and pull her tighter against him, so that there was nothing separating them anymore, and walked back under the spray of warm water. He still refused to let her go, just trailed his left hand up to her breast and squeezed, causing Rose to shudder against him.

"How is this possible? I was with Mason… and you were… God only knows where Tasha was keeping you. Dimitri, I- are you listening?" Rose was never answered as Dimitri was too focused on her body.

"You had a dream? Robert Deru is under high surveillance. He won't be getting to you for a very long time. Now, me on the other hand… I'm going to eat you up!" Dimitri playfully snarled and bit Rose tenderly. She squealed and ducked her head into the crook of his neck.

"Will you listen… who the hell is Robert Deru?" His hands pushed her against the wall and teased her overly sensitive body. Rose huffed before letting out a long moan. She pressed against him again trying to get him to do something, to give her something; which thankfully, he did.

Dimitri swooped in for a heavy kiss and distracted her by rubbing her breasts, pinching her nipples. Rose arched into his touch, desperate to get more.

"MMMMM!" His fingers were in her, slowly opening her up to him. Rose began to pant, her head falling to Dimitri's shoulder. He picked up the pace getting faster and harder with his fingers before he slipped them out of her tight wet heat. "Dimitri~"

-o.o-

"Rose?" Her eyes fluttered open, exposing the image of Mason leaning over her with a wet wash cloth. He lifted her up and put her into the luke-warm water of the porcelain tub. He cleaned her off and in that time, her eyes slid shut and she slept; not dreaming of anything but the black pit of misery she was currently living in.

-o.o-

When she opened her eyes again, Rose was in front of a beautiful white ranch home that looked similar to the one she had previously dreamt about. Mason was holding her still as he walked up the front steps past the wide array of amethyst lavender, white lilies, cherry orchids, and blue hydrangeas.

"Good, you're awake because no offense Rose, you're heavy." Mason smiled at her openly and Rose supported herself as they walked to the front door of the house.

There was shouting and plates crashing before a relatively attractive man with bronze hair and blue eyes ran out with only a towel covering his lower half.

"And stay the fuck out you perv!" A doll faced girl with curled blonde hair appeared before them fuming. Her blue eyes narrowed in on Mason. Pointing a finger at the mildly amused man she yelled, "What the hell do you think you're laughing at, chuckles? Don't think I won't tell Jill about this. And you!" She turned to Rose, who was barely concealing her fright, "Where the hell have you been? I've missed you so much, you antagonistic bitch!"

Mia moved forward to hug Rose, who promptly side stepped her to put more space between them.

"She doesn't remember anything Mia. And by the looks of it, you aren't making a very good first impression."

"I didn't make a very good first impression the first time around, so what else is new? Why is she here then, if not to tell me how awesome I am?" Mason chuckled and steered Rose towards the stairs.

"If Rose knew who you were she'd say, 'Mia you've never been awesome. The most you've ever accomplished is being a two-faced snot nosed ragdoll bitch; and I live you for it.' Anyways, a certain someone is planning on breaking out to see her, and this is the only place that doesn't have Royal Guards snooping around." Mia nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

"Jill isn't here by the way. She's with Lissa and the rest. I'm leaving soon to join them, want to come with me?" She called up, hoping he could still hear her. Mason shouted out a half hearted 'sure' and helped Rose into a small room.

An entire wall was covered by a floor to ceiling bookshelf stacked high with dusty books; the last two containing western classics, old 80's music, and bad chick flicks. Rose scrunched her nose as she pawed through the items.

"Whose shit is this?" Her eyes narrowing on a wallet sized photo of two people snuggling together by the fireplace, hot chocolate mugs in hand. Mason shook his head.

"This is your old room. You shared it with your fiancé, before… before all of this started happening. That girl downstairs is Mia Rinaldi. She's dating Eddie Castile. We were all friends back… never mind." Mason stopped when he saw the confusion on Rose's face. He told her to stay put and without any more comments, he left the house with Mia.

Rose slumped on an old brown leather couch and curled up with the picture of her and Dimitri snuggling.

-o.o-

"Dimitri… oh god!" Dimitri was thrusting into Rose now, savoring each moan she gave him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, fingers curled tight in his long brown hair. Rose tried desperately to get him deeper within her, but it didn't seem possible. Quickly forgetting about their shower, Dimitri turned the water off and carried Rose to the bed back in the room. He laid down and gripped Rose's hips as he helped her bounce on top of his hardened member.

Finally, his cock was pressed deep inside of her and slamming into that delicious place. She threw her head back with a loud moan and dragged her nails down Dimitri's golden chest, making him growl with unhidden ferocity. Still bouncing, Rose was on a high. She hadn't felt this free and full of life in long while, but it seemed normal here, in this weird dream. Because that's what this had to be, a beautiful dream she hid in to escape the dark reality she was currently living in.

"Roza, ya lyublyu tebya. Ostanʹsya so mnoy navsegda za svoyu lyubovʹ. Vy absolyutno sovershennym." He pulled her against his chest as he came inside of her tight pussy. Her walls contracted around his softening cock, milking him for all he was worth, before falling over the edge herself.

In the moments after, there were a lot of soft hushed words from Dimitri; petting back Rose's wet hair and caressing her sides. Rose was feeling utter bliss from this.

"Rose… Rose? Roza, Otkroyte glaza lyubyat."

-o.o-

Rose woke with a start, chocolate eyes watching her with unmasked concern. Dimitri lifted a hand to stroke Rose's tear streaked face.

"Are you alright?" Rose nodded and turned away, wiping away the rest of the salty tears and shaking her head and her stupidity. _Why the hell am I crying? I barely know this man… _

"Well, come on then. Let's go somewhere nicer than this shabby old room."

"I'll have you know this was my room, or at least that's what Mason told me."

"I know. We shared this room. You didn't actually think all if those western novels were yours did you?" Rose smiled at that and shook her head.

"I barely know anything about myself. But yeah, I figured they weren't mine. The 80's music and the chick flicks are yours too, right?" Dimitri laughed heartily.

"Oh no. The music is mine, but you loved those horrid girly movies. They were your favorites." Rose nodded absently, secretly pleased with herself because she made Dimitri laugh like that. Her hands went to cover Dimitri's as she brought them under her chin.

"You said we shared this room. This picture is of us. You said you knew my mother. And Mason said I shared this room with my fiancé before all of this," She waved her hands around, letting go of Dimitri's, "Started. Explain to me please. I'm so confused. Mia Rinaldi, the little kid that lives here, she… she said she knows me, or knew me… Just, tell me what's going on. I don't like not knowing." Rose bowed her head down, the headache resurfacing, making her hear her blood pound away at her temples.

Dimitri was quiet. He hadn't realized that the little secrets and bits of information she had been collecting were bugging her, but before he could voice himself, Rose interrupted fervently.

"And I've been having these dirty dreams about you. I mean I guess that's normal because you were my first time, but then again Victor and I- Well, never mind. You already know. And besides you have Tasha."

"Natasha is a heartless bitch who has never seen my love, Rose. I do not belong to her. It's just a job that I have to keep up for the moment. You and Victor are nothing. If I had my way, if it were safe for you, you'd already be out of there Rose, but- I can't. Not yet, anyways. And what do you mean dirty dreams?"

"Oh you know… you and me… fucking."

Dimitri raised his brows at that. He had high hopes that she still desired him, but he didn't think that was still a realistic possibility.

"Care to elaborate?" Rose ducked her head to hide the crimson blush that flooded her cheeks, but Dimitri already saw it. He corralled her in his arms and pulled her into his lap. He brushed his lips over the shell of her ear, "Please Roza, tell me…"

Maybe it was the memory of his heavy breathing, or maybe it was her recent dirty dream, but Rose moaned at the hot and husky whisper.

"You had me in the shower… and then took me to bed…" Dimitri chuckled and paused for more. "Dimitri… you were so rough, and perfect. You kept calling me 'Roza' and whispering to me in some other language… It was really hot."

Dimitri chuckled again and rubbed small circles into her back to get her to relax. "Where were we, Roza?" Rose shuddered at the use of her name, the way he husked it out like a sweet prayer.

"Some house. It was beautiful. Uh- mmm….'" Rose closed her eyes trying to remember something that stood out, "The address was 1021 Hummingbird Avenue."

And then Rose was cold and alone, on her butt. Dimitri sprang up eyes wide with wonder. "Rose… that was no dream." Rose's brows knit together in confusion, she shook her head. "Then what was it? Because it had to be a dream. I don't remember anything past being sold at a slave trade…"

"It was a memory. It had to be, which means my theory is right. A spirit user compelled you to forget everything… probably healed you as well before giving you to the traders…. Rose, that 'dream' was real. I remember that day. Lissa and Christian were coming over. We went on picnic with them and the rest of our friends. You were wearing a grey bath robe, the one your mother and father sent you for Christmas. You had a nightmare that night about Robert Deru escaping prison and killing you and…"

"Stop it! Just stop. It was a dream and nothing more. I didn't dream of Lissa and Christian, whoever they are. I don't know who Robert Deru is. And I certainly don't know you. We had sex at a dinner party and that was it. You mean nothing else to me, so stop it and leave me alone!" Rose tore out of the room as fast as possible, tears blinding her. She tripped on a step and tensed for the impact that would soon follow. But, it never came. Instead two strong arms pulled her towards an equally strong chest.

"Rose I will never let you go again. I made a mistake by letting you go out alone the first time. Not this time; not anymore." He held her tight, lightly rocking her while she cried against him, wishing that what he had been saying was true, that they were a couple and that she wasn't some blood whore.

**Author's Note: **

**BETA WANTED! Will not be paid, but will be much appreciated! :) **

**Yes, you heard right. I want/need a beta. The mistakes that I cannot see will be seen by another! Ha! Take that grammar!**

**Thank you to all the people who were patient. I apologize, I was very sick and had to miss school and then homework swamped me, and I got sick again. Yeah, all weekend has been a very sick hell for me. Yay?**

**To Rebecca, my psychotic friend. Thank you for threatening my sanity and telling me to get on with the writing. Even though I was miserable, you still managed to make me feel guilty! :) Tomorrow is the Supernatural episode! Come over and watch with me, or I will eat all of the candy in your house and kidnap your phone! Dun dun DUNN! **

**And again to the reader's, thank you! Please review, or be my beta (if interested!) **

**PS: I totally forgot this until after I had already posted this chapter! Sorry!**

"**Roza, ya lyublyu tebya. Ostan****ʹ****sya so mnoy navsegda za svoyu lyubov****ʹ****. Vy absolyutno sovershennym." Means roughly, (I don't know since Google Translate is being a bitch right now…) Rose, I love you. You are perfect. (Something else….)**

"**Rose… Rose? Roza, Otkroyte glaza lyubyat." Means exactly, Rose… Rose? Rose, open your eyes.**


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh would you get off my back already? Sydney, did I not only go to the dinner to tell Tasha that I was not swaying to her side? This is your aunt! Are you sure you aren't getting cold feet, Ozera?" Adrian huffed out. Christian had the audacity to question his alliance to Lissa, and even deeper to Rose. She was his friend, someone whom he cared for dearly; and Christian was manhandling the topic like old horny, single men at a strip joint.

Sydney shook her head, sighing that she 'wouldn't dare touch this with a ten foot pole'. Lissa was still at the center table in the conference room.

"So… I'll just go and assemble the rebel council, then. You two just… use a condom?" Adrian smirked as he commented on the tension in the room, before scurrying out with Sydney. Chuckles were heard and then a smack; it was quiet again. Their time alone was short lived; the council had too soon arrived.

Ibrahim Mazur, Janine Hathaway, Sydney Sage, Adrian Ivashkov, Viktoria Belikov, Jillian Mastrano, Christian Ozera, and Vasilisa Dragomir were all a part of the council. Fourteen open seats to the only people in the Moroi community who had the guts to stand up against Natasha Ozera, Victor Dashkov, and all of their cronies. Six chairs were left open; Eddie Castile, Mia Rinaldi, Mason Ashford, Ivan Zeklos, Dimitri Belikov, and Rose Hathaway were all missing for one reason or another.

"Rose has been found. Victor has her in captivity as of now, but we have bigger problems. But, Christian has confirmed that the Strigio are on our side."

"And what exactly are the Strigio to us?" Jill's green eyes questioning; her head was tilted to the side, and her curly brown hair swooshed over her shoulder.

"The Strigio are the same, Jill. They are the monsters under your bed; the things that want to claw at you and eat you alive. But, they are willing to help, to put aside their differences to bring Natasha and Victor down." Christian smiled. His eyes were light and playful, even though their topic wasn't.

"Yeah, and what the hell do they have to do with anything?" Abe sneered back.

"Abe, the Strigio are the last vote. Half of the humans' sides with us while the other half are living it up with the Royals. The Moroi are happy with where they are, they aren't being slaughtered and they have an endless supply of blood, fresh from the Dhampirs. We have half the human population and the Dhampirs… We are in a stalemate! We cannot win like this, so the Strigio are our best option."

"Okay… so is that why you're sleeping with the undead dead guy?" Adrian snipped back.

"Enough. Adrian, your attitude sucks. And you're not helping the cause. We need to get the world back on track, and us fighting each other doesn't get us anywhere closer." Viktoria looked very unimpressed. Her brown hair streaked with gold was twisted up into a bun. Janine threw her hands up.

"Why even meet up? Jill is absolutely clueless, Adrian is a pain in the ass, and Christian is the undead dead purple elephant in the room. And god damn it! Adrian, stop with the drinking! This isn't a bar!" Janine stormed off huffing all the way. Abe soon followed after her, grumbling about how the world was coming to an end and his daughter was being held against her will.

-o.o-

Adrian left the conference/council hall/room. He was beginning to get fed up with all of the angst that was being thrown back and forth at each other. It wasn't all bad when Rose and Dimitri were head of the group. Everyone was happy with the arrangement, but now? Christian was indeed the undead dead purple elephant in the room with the bossy Queen as his girlfriend.

"Aren't you even curious as to what Christian meant about 'bigger issues'?" Sydney asked quietly, roughening her voice to match Christian's for a short moment. Adrian looked down at his shorter, but still tall, girlfriend. He was supposed to pop the question to her, but everything went to hell.

"Not even the slightest. If he wants to keep pretending to be the mysterious bad boy for Lissa, then let him. I have spirit users to contact. Somebody must know someone who did this to Rose." Sydney nodded and watched as Adrian stormed off.

"I wish you could just see what I see…"

-o.o-

Adrian walked out into the open sky, eyes shining with unshed tears. He couldn't take not knowing if Rose was safe. It was breaking him apart. Blinking past them, he took a deep breath and kept walking, nodding when Mason and Mia passed him by.

They looked like they wanted to chat, but he didn't have time today. He had to go to the local whore house, 'The Church'. A bit ironic, this would have made Rose smile if she were with him. He needed to find Candy and Star. Their slogans were childish, but they always seemed to draw in a crowd.

"Candy – So sweet you could eat her" and "Star – She'll make your wishes cum true"

It was stupid, but Adrian was in desperate need of their advice and he couldn't go to his sweet girlfriend Sydney to complain…. This was a job for professionals.

He pushed past the drunken old men feeling up the younger (and much more attractive) girls. He went towards the back and into the VIP room. It was empty, like always. Only Adrian was considered VIP, and probably Lissa, Tasha, and Victor too if they ever came here.

He pulled back the black velvet curtains and sat down in the booth. Star was the first one to arrive. She had specialized in air, and looked the part of a hooker gone wild. Her aqua colored hair curled in tight ringlets that hung past her shoulders. She wore little makeup, she didn't need to, just light lip gloss and eyeliner that brought out the blue in her eyes. They were striking and hypnotic, like small pools of cerulean blue.

"Now, babe, you wouldn't be here if you weren't lonely. Is your girl not enough anymore? Because Candy and me? We're more than enough for a man like you…" Star dragged her chest over his and shivered. She peeled off her sparkly black strapless top. She moved closer so that she could kiss him senseless. The door opened and Candy came out smiling widely.

"Oh baby, you got started without me? No fun…" Candy had cotton candy fuchsia hair that was wavy from her braids earlier. Candy specialized in water and it wasn't used accordingly. She would sometimes use it to force others into a near death dehydration when pissed. Her golden hazel eyes narrowed in on the bulge that pressed against Adrian's pants.

Candy wore a similar outfit to Star's. They both had shimmering bikini tops and stringy bottoms that left nothing to the imagination. The only difference really was that, Star wore black and Candy wore white.

Candy had gotten down on her knees and pawed at Adrian's erection before sliding it free. Her lips took him in the second he was free. Adrian moaned, moving his right hand to her head, making her take more, while his left was much busier with ripping off Star's bottoms.

"Hold on, babe. We have a show to give you. That is why you're here right?" Adrian ignored Star and pushed her against the table, smiling when the strings came undone and uncovered his hidden treasure.

"No. I think I'll take this." Candy came off of Adrian and moved to the other side, kissing Star's neck lightly, but still watching Adrian from under her long lashes. He lifted up Star's lower half and brought it to his lips, hooking her legs over his shoulders and around his neck. He dug right in to the sweet taste of Star. She moaned out and thrashed her head about. Candy giggled before she left the room and Star in the very capable of Adrian Ivashkov.

"Oh god, Adrian please don't stop!" He set her legs down and positioned himself over her. He thrust in without warning and she clenched his thick rod in her wet cunt. She trembled as he went away inside her, fucking her with abandon, only slowing when he felt that he would ejaculate too soon. He wanted this last a little longer.

He finished after a half hour of harsh fucking, letting Star up with shaking hands.

"Where is Robert Deru?" Adrian didn't look at her. He kept his eyes low as his voice shook with fear.

"I knew there was a reason you came back… He's with his leading lady. They got out of the country after she wiped your girls mind clear of anything. Don't even think about going after them Adrian… They have an army of rogue spirit users, and you'll only get hurt; stay with me, please?" Star pushed Adrian against the booth, trying to restart the flame, the flame that was never truly there. He nudged her away and smiled sadly, still staring at the floor.

"I won't leave Sydney. Thank you, Star."

"You've already betrayed her! You slept with me, even if you only did it for me to talk. She won't take you back now. The King of Clovers isn't worth much without a lady on his arm. Adrian, let me be your lady again. Sydney can't be better than me. I'm as good as they get." She pulled him back, not letting him go.

"I may have just committed the worst act, but I'm still with her. And I'll never want you."

He left without letting Star throw back another argument. He rushed out of 'The Church' feeling grosser than he did walking in. He had acted on his choice. Now, he had to go back to Sydney knowing that he was unfaithful to her.

_I'm no better than Natasha and Victor…_

**Author's Note:**

**Well, thank you. Thank you very much. This was a very messy chapter. A very messy, messy chapter. Beta, anyone? Why, yes. I am looking for a beta. Thought I'd bring that back up again… :)**

**So, I suck you all rock. What's new? I'm tired and I've updated again. Early New Year's resolution complete! Fist pump? YES!**

**Okay, I have a poll up on my profile. Please vote! OR just tell me here. The question is…. Would anyone be interested in another AU for Vampire Academy?**

**The given answers were:**

**Hell YES!**

**Hell NO!**

**Maybe**

**Depends**

**Please tell me! And a shout out to everyone. I love you! ;) Please review and make my day! I've been sick. Take pity? :)**

**-Lolita**


	12. Chapter 12

Tasha sat back lazily watching a stranger's cum gradually seep out of her cunt. She couldn't find Dimitri, so instead she sought out and fucked some random ex-whore. Her legs were spread out on her bed and she just watched as the semen spilled out. For the first time in a long time, she was disgusted. She let herself near another unclean person; she felt used up and unimportant.

"Natasha? Dear, your boy had asked me to…" He trailed off and watched as Tasha stirred the cum in her cunt. She looked up and frowned.

"Victor… what are you doing here?" But, Victor moved forward. He grasped Tasha's legs and spread them apart. "Who the hell did this to you? Natasha! No man should ever be able to…" He trailed again at loss for words.

He didn't love Rose; that much was obvious. She was a toy, a distraction while Tasha had a fling with Dimitri. However, she should never have been left alone. Natasha deserved better! He scooped the sticky white substance and tried to get as much of it out of her as possible. Her soft pink flesh twitched at the touching and the stroking.

"Damn you, Victor! Uh- HARDER! Please, that pathetic pool-boy left me dissatisfied. I need you, your big cock taking my little pussy hard and rough like you used to." She was moaning now, enticing Victor to give into the desire to fuck Tasha senseless. It was a painful moment for the two. It had been months since they had come together.

-o.o-

Natasha went into her shower trembling from Victor's force. The room was in a constant spin and the tiles felt cool against her overheated skin. Victor had long since left; he went to the nearest whore house, 'The Church', to grab them a snack. That left Tasha alone again with her thoughts, something that was always dangerous.

Her thoughts wandered to before she was even Queen. She was just Natasha Ozera. Her home was not a large castle, but a small cabin in the dense woods outside of the Court, a place that had been destroyed on day one as Queen.

Tasha was a no name whose family was thought of as Strigoi lovers. Untrue, she was a fighter; someone who would never back down from a fight. She wouldn't have stood for all of this bullshit. She fought for the Dhampirs once upon a time, so why not now?

Tasha shook her head and quickly finished the shower, before returning to her extensive collection of clothes in the closet. She grabbed a light blue tee-shirt with blue jeans and black flats, and then headed out of the castle to the nearest 'Anti-Blood Whore' campaigning site.

-o.o-

Adrian was more than a little disappointed in himself. He had become what he hated most. Star wasn't the only woman he had been with either; there was Candy, Elena, Priscilla, Heidi, and Rachel. Not that he had ever really felt anything for any of those girls, but what difference would that make to the one that mattered most to him? Would Sydney forgive him? _Could she?_ Adrian thought to himself remorsefully.

He quickly stepped past everyone who was leaving the conference late. Eddie had Mia wrapped in his arms as they followed behind Jill and Mason. Keeping his head low, he passed by Mikhail and Sonya, then Oskana and Mark, and eventually Abe and Janine.

Adrian smiled grimly in passing motioning to them he was busy. When he finally got to the council room, he couldn't look up. The shame of what he had done was forcing him to keep his head low; especially to avoid looking at Sydney directly.

"Oh would you look at that! The King of Clovers thought to us grace with his presence. How kind of you, Ivashkov. How did your call with the spirit user go? Get any _juicy_ details?" Ozera kept his eyes narrowed to slits of pure red lava. If looks could kill, Adrian would've been dead yesterday.

"Yes, if you must know. The call went fantastic. I know where those little _mutts_ are hiding out now. So, _yes_; I have gotten some _very_ juicy details." Lissa pulled Christian back before he could strike out at Adrian. It was like he knew what Adrian had done. He probably did given the way he was glaring at Adrian.

Christian finally turned away from Adrian with a roll of his eyes. He went back to inspecting the small cracks in the wall beside him. Lissa spoke up.

"If you boys are done with your testosterone show down, can we go? I want to go to Mia's sometime today." She then promptly went back to filing the last few papers that sat on the desk. Adrian turned his back on Lissa and Christian to look at Sydney for the first time.

"Why are they going to Mia's?" Sydney looked up from her nails.

"They're going to see Rose. She's there with Dimitri right now. Lissa wants to go there and bring her back here so that everyone can see her again."

"Are you going as well?" Sydney nodded, her gaze dropped back to her nails and she picked at them cautiously. Lissa had finished filing the papers and had grabbed her bag.

"We'll be in the car. Please hurry." Then, she and Christian exited silently, letting the door close just as silently.

"Shall we get going then, Sydney?" When she said nothing, Adrian turned to see her gazing at him again.

"Adrian… is there anything you want to tell me?" Her voice was small as it shook like a leaf in the wind. He was lucky he was paying attention to her; otherwise he wouldn't have heard the soft spoken question. Adrian shivered, the feeling of guilt spreading through him once again. He cleared his throat and smiled.

"I love you Sydney."

"I know." She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice and off of her face. It must have worked because he seemed unaffected. His smile was bright and cheery at her answer, as if nothing had happened. Adrian walked out of the room quickly, trying to escape the guilt that was beginning to suffocate him. He had to put some space between them before he let it all consume him.

Sydney was left in the conference room alone. Her thoughts buzzed about her head in a flurry. They didn't stop until she forced herself to get up and think about anything, but Adrian.

_He would have told me. He would have come to me. Adrian doesn't need Brittany… He wouldn't have needed to go to them if he- He doesn't trust me anymore…_

Despite her best efforts, Sydney's thoughts gravitated towards Adrian. She couldn't help it. He had saved her! Adrian had helped her, and they had fallen in love! _Well, I fell in love. One could only hope Adrian is capable of love, and I thought he was…_

Sydney forced herself to stand up and exit. She went to the car where Christian was driving, Lissa was in the passenger seat and Adrian sat in the very back row. Sydney opted for the middle row, unsure of where Adrian wanted her. He made no comment when she strapped herself in, the only noise coming from Christian's disgruntled sigh as he glared through the rearview mirror at Adrian again. He started the Honda Pilot then took off, flying by several homes, blood whore communities, whore houses, the hospital, a few restaurants, and the small 'Anti-Blood Whore' campaign site.

The drive took about thirty minutes; a very silent thirty minutes, save for the little taps from Lissa who was pecking away at her iPhone.

-o.o-

They arrived shortly after at Mia's white farm house. 2425 Main Acre Street; it was the only house on the block.

They exited the car hurried, excited to see Rose again. The second the door was unlocked and open, Lissa tore through the house and took two steps at a time up the staircase. She maneuvered her way through the familiar house and let go of any shred of formality. This was Rose, her best friend! She didn't have to play the cool and collected queen in front of her, and that made Lissa emotions run wild.

Would Rose still like her? Did she even remember her? What if she didn't? _Oh, that would just kill me! I need Rose…_

Finally, Lissa found Rose and Dimitri's old room, and drew the door open. Inside, Rose was curled into Dimitri's side breathing softly. Dimitri's arms were wrapped around her tightly, his face tucked into the side of her face.

He looked up and brought his right index finger to his lips before carefully tangling them back into her chestnut hair. Rose shifted, still very asleep, and murmured something under her breath that made Dimitri smile. He slowly stood up, carrying Rose bridal style, and took her to a bed in another room. Christian, Sydney, and Adrian all made it upstairs by the Dimitri walked back.

His eyes were tired and thoughtful, while his hair looked 'sexed up', as Rose would have once said. The top buttons to his shirt were undone, exposing a glimpse of his chest. He stood barefoot in front of them, his left hand tucked in the pocket of his blue jeans, while the other rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Christian rolled his eyes, "I see you've picked up some habits while at my aunt's. An aversion to normal clothing for one… Nice underwear dude; really digging the pink leopard print Speedo." Christian smirked and turned to leave the room, laughter ringing in his ears.

Dimitri followed him to the kitchen where the rest trailed after. Adrian looked at the old wooden table in disgust, and then sat down flicking a stray crumb away from him.

"Why is it that I remember this place being much cleaner?" He asked no one in particular; and nobody answered him either. Christian sat across from Adrian and Lissa sat in between them. Dimitri settled himself against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. Sydney hung back, leaning in the doorframe.

"Okay, so… any update?" Christian chuckled softly. He looked up at Dimitri's intimidating frame and smiled again.

"Besides the fact you're not Tasha's bitch anymore. How the hell did you get out of that?"

"I have an idea," Sydney piped up , looking at them all before returning her gaze to Christian's questioning eyes, "Spirit users. Adrian said he found out where the people who started this are. Well, I know who started this and I have Mikhail and Sonya working on getting her back into the country."

"And what does that have to do with Dimitri being a bitch?" Christian snorted as Lissa glared.

"Well, she may not be in the country, but she has friends; several of which, I have talked to and struck deals with. A friend of mine, Riley, is a part of her group here. Dimitri you were being compelled by Arana. She kept you in whatever state Tasha wanted you in; same for Rose. The affects should be wearing off. More good news, what happened to Rose can be fixed." Dimitri nodded, but his face was still drawn into a frown. He remembered exactly what happened that night and it was something he would always regret.

-o.o-

"Roza, where are you going?" I looked up at her putting on her slippers. She wore the white cotton shorts and grey tank, not bothering to put something warmer on.

"I thought I heard something outside. I'll be back in a second. Don't worry, I'm a trained Guardian!" Her smile relieved some of the tension that began to form in me. I could trust her to run outside of the room and chase a squirrel. The madness of what was going on in Europe was getting to me. The Strigoi were getting out of hand, but there were multitudes of Guardians on site already. The issue would be solved in a matter of days. Today I was going to enjoy the vacation with my friends and my fiancé, soon to be wife.

Rose left our little treetop house in favor for chasing whatever was making noise outside. I settled back into the bed, waiting for her to come back. What should have been ten minutes had turned into much longer. I couldn't take the wait so I got up from the bed to go and find my shoes.

The moment I closed the door behind me, someone had grabbed me and slammed me against the ground. Guardian instincts kicked in and just as I was about to fight them back, I couldn't move.

"Dimitri Belikov, you are to stay still and stay quiet. You will do everything we ask, and you will not try to escape."

-o.o-

The memory of that night had branded itself into Dimitri's head. He opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him. He remembered waking up in a dank and musty warehouse. Images of Rose being beaten in front of him still haunted him. These things were slowly coming back to him. Whoever Arana was, she couldn't get inside his head anymore, which meant he wouldn't feel for Tasha. He was free to feel for Rose again.

Everyone looked up to the rustling in the other room. Rose walked down the steps wearing a white knitted sweater that Dimitri's mother had sent one holiday and grey leggings. Her face was framed by her long chestnut hair that curled at the ends. Dimitri couldn't stay away any longer. He pushed off the counter to go scoop Rose into an embrace. He held her there tightly, before shifting her around so he could carry her.

"Rose, this is Lissa and Christian. They live together in the Diamond Castle. You remember Lissa? She hasn't formally-" Lissa broke in with a smile.

"I'm Lissa; nothing more, nothing less. We were, and still are, best friends. Once we get your memories back, you'll see." Rose cringed away from the platinum blonde who acted as if she knew everything. This… Lissa didn't seem so nice. Her jade eyes were too hard, her smile too icy; and the man at her side… He was a Strigoi. His main purpose was to slaughter Moroi. Of course, now it was very rare to hear anything like that happen.

"Well, that's Lissa anyways. I'm Sydney Sage. I know your father; he's how we first met. You and Dimitri had run off to Italy and I was sent to make sure hooligans didn't break any of their shit." Sydney smiled, trying to stay calm. If Rose was here, then someone might have followed her and Mason to the house. She got up shook Rose's hand and moved towards the front door.

Adrian, on the other hand, was gaping like a fish out of water. Rose was in front of him and the king couldn't think of one thing to say to his friend. He felt like an idiot. _I am an idiot. I cheat on Sydney, I lie to her, and now I'm staring at Rose like she's an alien… Aren't I terrific?_

Rose didn't give him any chance to say something; she dived right into the conversation.

"So Dimitri was compelled too? Was it by the same person who compelled me? Do you know what's going on?" Rose turned her gaze on Dimitri, "Will you tell me now?"

Dimitri nodded, keeping to his earlier silent promise and commitment. Rose was his, and it was his job to keep her happy.

"Yes, I was compelled. And no; I was compelled by Arana? Yes," He nodded after Sydney gave him thumbs up from the window, "Someone very powerful has gotten a large quantity of spirit users together and somehow guided them all to compel everyone simultaneously. It's actually quite interesting…"

"Save your musings for another time, Dimitri. We have reason to believe its Robert Deru and his lady friend,"

"Did you just say lady friend?"

"Hush up, Adrian! Continue, Christian,"

"Gladly, anyways, if my sources are right Robert Deru and Anastasia Rinaldi have organized this group. They must have had beef with you Rose because they managed to get you in the thick of it."

"What do you mean?" Rose's hand grasped Dimitri's tightly, eyes widening with worry.

"Well, they got you beaten within an inch of your life, healed you back up, stuffed you in an apartment that was going to be demolished, sent you on your merry way to a slave trade, and landed you with Dashkov. That's a whole lot of work for one Dhampir. Begs the question, who the hell did you piss off Rose?"

Rose looked between Adrian, Sydney, Lissa, Christian, and then finally Dimitri. She shook her head lightly, confusion marring her naturally beautiful features.

"I don't know…."

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you very much to my beta, Tatiana Belikova! Thank you for being patient with my slow writing :)**

**Thank you to Callista Wolfwood, Only The Lucky, RozaRocks, and Maris Belikov for reviewing Chapter 11! I'd also like to thank everyone who read it in general! Review if you'd like to say something. Review if you want to know something. Eat cake because it's good. **

**I hope you guys have a happy Thanksgiving, or day where you eat a whole bunch of delicious food. Just enjoy it! :) **

**-Lolita**

**PS: There's a poll on my profile. Please vote! :) Let your voice be heard! Or not, whatever's cool with you :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Heidi Ochoa left the overpopulated 'Church' for the more accommodating sidewalk. She sat down on the curb and pulled her knees to her chest. The silk red dress clung to her slim figure, and slid up to her thighs. She crossed her ankles, listening to the clack of her matching red stilettos, and tried to warm herself up. 'The Church' was doing costume night, and she had gotten stuck with the devil costume. Her blonde hair hung past her shoulders, flat from the heat. Her curls had fallen during the constant moving and touching. It was a pain. In anger she tore off the plastic devil horns and threw them across the street. Heidi stormed off to her car to wait out the creeps that always wanted her to dance for them.

Rachel Espinoza was not so lucky. Apparently debauching a girl dressed as an angel was better than screwing the devil. She had recently gotten moved from bartender to stripper in a week, which was sweet when it came to the money, but the job itself was annoying. She ached everywhere due to the constant teeth on her neck, chest, arms, and legs. The Moroi men were restless tonight and more and more were pouring through the door. On her way back to the safety of the dressing rooms, someone grabbed Rachel's arm.

Victor Dashkov grinned widely and motioned for her to join him. Rachel was unsure; she tried to find her partner Heidi or Star or Candy, but no one was in sight. So, stupidly, she smiled back and nodded.

Heidi saw from her car that Rachel had just left with King Dashkov, but she wasn't really concerned. He'd drink from her, but he had that blood whore, Rose Hathaway, to beat up and torture. Rachel would be safe as long as the kid was around.

-o.o-

The crowd dwindled down to the regulars and then it was finally time to close. Heidi had gone back in an hour ago and was pleased to find Candy.

"Hey! I heard Adrian came in. I thought he was still dating that prude, Sage. They are not the cutest couple." Candy nodded absently, her cotton candy pink hair bobbing with her.

"Yeah, he was here. He fucked around with Star and left. The idiot wants to go and chase down some chick. Apparently, Mr. Dashkov's blood whore is very valuable. Did you hear? There have been sixteen riots and fourteen protests to the 'Anti-Blood Whore' campaign?" Candy kept rambling on, trying to find something, anything, to distract her from the deafening silence of the now empty 'Church'.

Heidi could have cared less really. She knew it was wrong to put the Dhampirs down as blood whores, but that meant she had more room to flirt with Moroi men. Their eyes never strayed too far from her for too long. For a Moroi man to be with a Dhampir woman, or a Moroi woman to be with a Dhampir man, was looked down upon. That was hardly acceptable in this day. And Heidi rejoiced in it.

"Yes, well, idiots will be idiots I suppose." Star walked out of the dressing rooms looking normal for once. Her blue hair curled loosely, her body pressed into a tight, blizzard white cocktail dress. She smiled at them, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and walked towards them.

"Idiots; are we talking about you, or that bitch Sydney Sage?" She narrowed her icy blue eyes. Star had a personal vendetta against Sydney, "Don't you girls know the story of those two? The reason why they're even together? I hate that whore! She took Adrian from me, and she's not even a Moroi!"

Candy rolled her hazel eyes. Apparently she knew this story well, "Yes, you've told me about this like, forever ago. Just drop it. Brittany, it's not good for you to hold all that anger in. It'll get you killed."

"Don't call me Brittany! You know that's not my name anymore. In here, I'm Star. Out there, I'm Star. There is no Brittany! Not since Sydney showed her face and took Adrian away!" Star's eyes narrowed further into slits. She stormed out in a hurry, pissed that Candy called her something other than 'Star'.

"Wow, what was that all about?" Heidi dared to say after a moment of awkward silence. Candy looked up from her lap. She shrugged half heartedly.

"It's a long story."

"We have time…"

"Alright, Star dated Adrian once upon a time. That was of course after Priscilla dumped his ass and I went back and forth with him. Star was actually Brittany Robins, a very low Moroi on the scale. No one really gave her a second look; not until she got into the business of shedding her clothes for money. But, she met Adrian through me. They 'sparked' or something because the next thing I knew, they were seriously dating. This went on for a long time. They were seriously happy together, but Adrian gets bored quickly; nothing too serious for him. He was in Italy at the time. They had a massive fight and Brittany wanted a break from him. And Adrian moved on. The girl, Sydney Sage, was watching over Dashkov's girl, Rose Hathaway, and had gotten into a bit of problem. Strigoi surrounded her and were going to kill her, were it not for Adrian. He busted in there and kicked ass; of course looking back now, he might have been exaggerating. He left Brittany behind in favor of Sydney. She just understood him better, treated him better. When Adrian screwed up, she'd still welcome him home with open arms. The girl is like a saint; she can do no evil." Candy turned toward the door Star had stormed out of, Heidi mimicking her exactly.

"Well that's a damn shame. So, who's Priscilla? You've never mentioned her before." Heidi tilted her head and motioned for Candy to spill. It wasn't going to be a fun story, but it was one that had to be explained.

"My real name is Candice Tran. Me, Brittany, and Priscilla… we hated each other. Priscilla got Adrian's heart first. They're childhood friends. They dated for three years before Adrian proposed to her, and she turned him down. I had never seen Adrian so rejected in my life. That's how we started out. But, Priscilla loved Adrian; she just couldn't stand his family or her family for that matter. Priscilla's mother would always make Adrian feel unwelcomed. It was something she did rather well to those of us who weren't apart of the Zeklos family line; ironic though, Priscilla's mother wasn't a Zeklos. She was a Badica."

"That doesn't really explain Priscilla though…"

"Only Priscilla can properly explain herself. She's just a crazy person. I would have never let Adrian go, but she did. You should go talk to her. I think she's out of the country now… Something to do with staying off the grid…?" Heidi nodded. Her face had gone from relaxed to stress in no time. Instead of leaving like she had originally planned, she stayed and caught up on all the gossip that had been floating around the 'Church' for weeks now.

-o.o-

"I don't know…"

Dimitri pulled Rose into him again telling her he'd never let them hurt her again. Sydney carefully walked back to the table and smiled at their embrace. She lightly coughed trying to get their attention.

"She might have forgotten in the commotion, but Lissa wanted to bring you home with us. There are a lot of people who would be thrilled to see you again." Sydney smiled at us, her warm eyes encouraging Rose to speak up.

"O-okay… I can do that…."

"After, of course, I get a few more hours with her… alone." He nipped at the outer shell of Rose's ear. She laughed and pushed against his chest to kiss his lips playfully. Rose and Dimitri didn't excuse themselves; they just skirted past Adrian and Sydney and ran upstairs. Lissa smiled when she heard a door slam and Christian joined her, smirking when he heard things being slammed around.

"So what are we going to do now?" Adrian drawled out sourly. His disheveled hair was being rubbed furiously by an irritated hand.

"Well, Lissa and I are going home."

"And what do you have planned for us, Christian?"

"Couples counseling, Adrian; you two are going to talk about this. Sydney, don't be afraid to assert yourself here. It's called a safe room for a reason."

"Or closet, because if you don't go to couples counseling, I'll have Christian lock you two in a closet." Adrian glared at them.

"Sydney and I are the perfect couple. If anyone needs couples counseling, it's you two! Leave me out of any schemes you have. I'm perfectly happy with my relationship with Sydney!" Christian snarled and got up quickly, the Strigoi speed catching everyone but him off guard. He threw Adrian against the wall near Sydney.

"Listen to me you little shit. Sydney doesn't deserve your bullshit. That girl has stood faithfully by your side; she wants to help you, but you won't let her in. Now, you're going to deal with this now! Be a man, damn it!" Christian's fangs were getting awfully close to Adrian's throat. Sydney backed away slowly, giving Lissa room to get close to Christian. She laid her palm flat against his back and let Spirit flow from her, to him. He visibly relaxed and let go of Adrian.

Lissa pulled Christian away and left the house. Sydney could hear the Pilot rev up and pull out of the driveway. She was alone again with Adrian. Adrian stood there still shocked at what had just happened.

"Did he just… What happened?" Adrian's eyes were blown wide with disbelief. Apparently he didn't think that the Strigoi Christian was capable of anger. Sydney shrugged her shoulders and sat down across from Adrian. If she was going to handle Adrian, she would do it sitting down.

"Adrian, I think the more important topic here is our relationship, or lack of. I know about Brittany and Candice. You can tell me whatever you want, but I need you to know that I am very aware of what has been going on. The only reason why I haven't done anything is because… you were never committed in the first place. But, I fell in love Adrian. I fell in love with you, and I had hoped that maybe you did too, but that's alright if you didn't. I-" Adrian grabbed her wrists and brought them to his chest.

"Sydney, never doubt my love for you. I love you, I just… There isn't a way for me to explain myself. I am a selfish man who hasn't been treating you the way you deserve to be treated, but Sydney, I love you! I can't make up for Star, but Candy and I never had a thing while I was with you! I swear, only Star. And I've told her that you're the only one for me…" He trailed off after seeing the tears pool in Sydney's brown eyes. She turned away when they began to spill over, but Adrian moved right with her. His arms wrapped around her with ease, as he pulled her close and tuckered her head under his chin.

"Adrian, it's too late… Let me go. You've made your decision to be with 'Star'. Just… stop lying to me and everyone else; because you're starting to believe that that's the truth, and it's not." Sydney pushed away from him and looked him straight in those moss green eyes.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you?" Adrian slumped away from her. He knew what she _should_ see when she looked at him…

"You see a pathetic man whore who can't seem to be faithful to the one person who has ever had any real feeling for him? You see the world's biggest ass that isn't worthy of your love? Because that's exactly what I see every time I look in the mirror…" Sydney cupped the side of his face.

"I see someone who thinks he's all alone in the world. I see a man who is too afraid to let others in. But that's okay, because I still love you Adrian. Let's not have a pity party, please. Instead, we can take a step back from this and let it rest. I love you, but this isn't right, and I'll let you go. Please let me go Adrian." Sydney backed away from him and turned. She didn't look back at him when she left. In fact, she left in another car, letting Adrian feel the sting.

'_I love you, but this isn't right. Please let me go. It's too late.' _Sydney's words were on a constant replay in Adrian's mind. He couldn't feel anything but shame and the numbness that overtook him. He wanted desperately to go to Star and have her make him feel again, but that's what had started this; him wanting to feel something from anyone but Sydney.

Adrian sat down at the table, his head in his hands, and groaned; a groan that was immediately accompanied by Rose's moans. Adrian sat up and bolted from the house as fast as his legs would carry him. He did not need to hear Dimitri get lucky when his girlfriend had just broken up with him. _Lucky prick…_

-o.o-

Dimitri was a god, a big sexy hulking Russian god. That's all Rose could think about when they finally stripped out of their clothes. Rose could barely make out the sounds of the guests downstairs, but she wasn't given much time to focus on that. All she was able to focus on was Dimitri's hot mouth nipping, kissing, and licking at every inch of her skin. His very touch burned her with animalistic passion.

Rose couldn't help but writhe under him. Dimitri smirked into her skin and then licked up her stomach again. He caught one of her taut nipples in his mouth and sucked while rolling the other with his right hand. She arched up, like a tight bowstring, to get more of the pressure and feel of his mouth and fingers.

Her heart was slamming in her chest as she pushed into him more. He removed his mouth and kissed Rose tenderly, his right hand caressing her ribcage. Rose whimpered at the loss of pressure, but melted into the kiss eagerly. Dimitri's hand went from her side all the way down to her hip. He gripped it tight, letting his left hand hold onto her back, before flipping them over.

Dimitri clearly remembered Rose's memory of them together, and he wanted her to feel that again. He wanted to see her face and he wanted to feel her control him. The sex was fun, but he did enjoy the show that Rose put on for him before she forgot everything.

"What are you doing? Didn't that girl want you to-" Dimitri silenced Rose with his lips as he let his hands roam over her body. He loved the feel of her long soft hair, her soft flesh under his hardened skin, the swell of her pert breasts and the sexy noises she made when they were teased. He loved when she bit him, and made him beg for more; but right now, he just wanted Rose to be here with him, even if it didn't lead to sex.

However, at this moment, that's exactly what was going to happen.

Rose ground down against Dimitri's hard on, moaning when he tweaked her nipples. With her head thrown back and her face contorted in pleasure, Dimitri thrusted up, pushing into Rose's warm velvety insides. Rose collapsed on top of Dimitri's chest, crying out at the suddenness. He stopped, worried he had hurt her, but Rose just whined when the movement ceased.

She tried to imitate the same power of thrusts, but failed. Dimitri's warm hands gripped her hips again and helped her get him deeper within her slick passage. He increased the speed at her call, and she moaned again. It was utterly delicious watching Rose slide herself against his chest, her breath heating his neck when she panted or released a gust of air from her lungs roughly. Dimitri's head was beginning to go numb to everything except the soft insides of _his_ Rose. He cursed into her ear, before he moved them again.

Rose now lay on her back as Dimitri drew back and slammed in with force. Her broken cries echoed in the empty house. She cried out again, as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a heavy kiss.

"I love you, _Comrade_."

-o.o-

It had been two peaceful hours since Star had stormed out. Of course, once the two hours were over, she flew right back in. Candy and Heidi were sleeping on the floor, not really caring about leaving.

But Star? She flew in and knocked into them. Her blue eyes were blurred with tears and her mascara was running down her cheeks, chasing the salt water down like it was a race. She was blubbering about something, but neither Candy nor Heidi was awake enough to understand. Star grasped the remote to the TV in her hand and fumbled with the buttons until it whirred to life.

"A young girl has been found at the edge of town today; her throat was ripped out and her heart missing. We now take you to the scene live." The screen had shifted from the anchor woman to a younger man.

"Thank you Linda. As you can see here, this young girl wasn't here when she died. Witnesses say they saw her two hours earlier with King Victor Dashkov. He had taken her home, where he then killed her. We know the identity of the girl, but she has no family to call home to. Rachel Espinoza is no longer with us. Back to you, Linda."

"Thank you, Bryan. Now onto brighter topics! Yesterday, Natasha Ozera was seen at a-" Star muted the TV and broke down into sobs again. Heidi looked over at Candy, who seemed to be frozen in her shocked state.

Star collapsed on Candy's lap and her entire body trembled with grief and rage. Heidi saw the crazed anger burn into those once cool blue eyes. When Star lifted her head again, her fangs gnashed against each other and she looked ready to kill.

"Victor will pay. King or not, he will pay!" Candy stayed quiet; the sheer fury of Star's words made her nervous. Heidi left slowly, trying not to draw attention to herself. Rachel had been a friend. Both of them had had wild sleep over's and drunken parties with Adrian and several other Moroi men. But, Rachel was dead now. Heidi was overwhelmed by guilt.

_If only I had the brains enough to tell someone, or help her… But, I guess it doesn't matter in the end… Somebody needed to die, and Rachel was the perfect candidate. No one will really notice her absence…_

Heidi turned and strutted to her car, flipping her blonde mane over one shoulder and resting a hand on her hip. If Anastasia wanted the girl to die, the girl would die. The only thing that really mattered was keeping her happy, something Anastasia's crew was more than happy to do.

**Author's Note: Hooray! It is done! I hope you lovelies enjoy it!**

**Thank you RozaRocks, Only The Lucky, and Callista WolfWood for reviewing on chapter 12! I greatly appreciate it!**

**Shout out to Tatiana Belikova for being an awesome beta! :) I advise everyone find her and read her stories! They are absolutely brilliant! Her newest one 'Unspeakable Love' is already exciting! I can't wait for the next chapter! ;) **

**Now, due to the overwhelming poll results (haha, 2 votes), I have decided that the poll will be closing once chapter 14 has been posted up! So, please vote for me?**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter; I enjoyed writing part of it! :) Review?**

**-Lolita**


	14. Chapter 14

"I love you, _Comrade_."

Dimitri pulled back to look at Rose's face. His hands gently cupped her face and brought them nose to nose. Rose's eyes fluttered shut, sighing softly when Dimitri warm breath caressed her face, and moved effortlessly against Dimitri again.

"Skazhi eto yeshche raz, Roza." Dimitri's eyes closed as he brought her lips to his. He smiled widely when they parted, watching her eyes cloud with desire and lust. Instead of continuing on the path to a hot, heavy, pure sex spree, Dimitri wrapped his arms around Rose and shielded her from the world with his body. Yes, it was evident that they would eventually need to leave if they were planning on making it to the Diamond Castle sometime that day, but for now… well, Dimitri could use a little Rose time without the sex.

The rest of the world could wait…

-o.o-

Heidi slammed the door to her yellow Porsche in a hurry to get to her house hidden in the beautiful secluded forest. Well, house wasn't the word for it; it was more like a mansion. Sadly, the mason was given another name by the other occupants inside, the 'Clubhouse'. It was a tacky name that reminded Heidi so much of her job at the 'Church'…

Strutting through the empty halls undeterred, Heidi tried desperately to regain an air of confidence because if you showed weakness, you'd be dead by dawn. She breathed in softly before listening to the other occupants stir up trouble. From the other side of the large oak door, Heidi could hear yelling, screaming, giggling, and the smashing of glass. Taking another deep breath, she pushed through the doors and found the nearest empty seat to lounge in.

The ruckus had come from James, who was currently scrambling to get to his feet, and Garrett, who was already on his feet and ready to knock James down again. The two boys were always at each other's throats, but they were also good friends; Heidi didn't understand, nor did she want to, the dynamics of their relationship.

James was a handsome fellow, with his light brown hair that fell just below his jaw line and beautiful amber eyes. He had faint stubble, but that only made him seem dreamier. But, that was all physical. Heidi knew what he was on the inside. James was sly and cruel; he didn't need anyone's permission to do anything thanks to his natural talent with compulsion. It was more than that though, James had never been ordered around in his entire life. The twenty-nine year old man could hardly stand listening to someone else tell him what to do. On the list of the strongest spirit users in the room, he was a seven.

Now, Garrett was a three. He had earned that spot by following orders and carrying them out without discussion or hesitation; not that James hesitated, because he didn't… ever. Garret had a very distinct look to him. He was hot in that 'British-rockstar-who-wears-guy-liner-and-can-jump-in-my-pants-at-any-time' way. He had reddish brown locks that matched James' cut. Garrett also had wild dark chocolate eyes that almost looked black. He was cute, and he reminded Heidi of Lee Pace!

Garrett was trying to lock James in a chokehold to stop him from destroying another glass vase that wobbled dangerously on the edge of the equally fragile glass table; this was not a place for rough-housing. But, of course, Kylie and Kendall egged them on with their giggling encouragement.

Kylie and Kendall, the only two twin spirit users in the world, both ducked when the vase was tossed at their faces. The girls only squealed in return. Both girls had dyed strawberry blond hair and purple contacts to make them seem more 'enticing'. In reality, Heidi just wanted to chuck them out of the window. They wore loads of cover-up and both cackled like old crones. No one really gave a damn about the twin sisters, but those two were always trying to impress Anastasia, Robert, and above all Arana.

And then there were those who could care less about impressing Arana; those people happened to be Cam, Rebecca, Callie, and Riley.

Cam, a man that took too many words to properly explain, was one of them. In a brief summary, he could be explained as a loyal friend, who could offer great advice because he was very mindful of others. Though he was aloof, secretive, closed, guarded, and indifferent, he was also determined, focused, honest, hard-working, mature, and very dedicated. He was a good man. Cam had dirty blonde hair that was soft, much like a cat's fur, but he had hard chiseled features as well. His hawk-like eyes were hazel, but in the golden sunset, they looked like melted honey. He wasn't a recluse, but he liked his personal space. It explained his current position in the farthest corner of the room. He was resting against another plush beige sofa, enjoying his old dusty book wrapped in leather bindings.

Rebecca avidly opposed Arana and her leadership role; she was infamous for breaking Arana's shit. Though she was a spirit user, Rebecca had enough control over fire and air to pass as another 'normal' Moroi, unlike the others. Rebecca's cool blue eyes were known for analyzing every move the others made. She was known for calling someone out for lying and betraying the other members of their 'team'. Rebecca had raven black hair that normally fell down straight, but today was pulled back into a high ponytail, side swept bangs were constantly brushed out of her eyes. This special Moroi matched Arana on height and body type, but Rebecca was better physically, whereas Arana was better socially. They were evenly matched mentally.

Rebecca was relaxing against Cam's legs, curled around the newer recruit. Her name was Callie. She was just as observant as Rebecca, but twice as quiet as Cam. She had long pale blonde hair that ran to just under her shoulders, where it curled in slightly. Callie also had shy blue eyes, the color of Rebecca's, that were closed tightly as if she were trying to ward off a nightmare. She was snuggled into Rebecca's embrace and their whole set-up today looked like a mock family.

Heidi looked around the open room quickly, noting that the two very official lovebirds were missing, but before she raise any attention to it, she saw the tall man carrying his smaller counterpart with ease. He carried them over to an empty couch and nuzzled his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck.

Jet, the six foot giant, was utterly quiet. He was the only person in there group that didn't speak to any of them, except his boyfriend, at all. Jet's skin color was in between a soft golden tan and the smooth olive tone. Either way, he was hot. His charcoal black hair brushed in front of his eyes, and no one knew what color they were, which added onto his mysterious persona. His boyfriend, Seth, adored him.

Seth was the only one who had ever heard him speak, the only one who had ever seen his eyes, and the only one who was allowed to be this close. Very different from Jet, Seth was five feet and four inches. He also had dusty blonde hair and crème skin, which was a shade darker than a Strigoi's. Seth didn't tan, he cooked like bacon. Seth and Jet complimented each other perfectly; where Jet lacked in voice and authority, Seth made up for it and where Seth lacked presence and ferocity, Jet made up for that.

The last two people Heidi had spotted were also the two strongest in the room; Arana and Riley.

Riley, the second in command, was in love with cameras, especially the film type. He was currently tinkering with one. Riley was pressing the release key as he rewound it back into the film canister, sitting forward then pushing back once it had been done. He shut his bright green eyes and ran his left hand through his disheveled sandy brown locks. He was cute, but not in the drool worthy Adrian Ivashkov way.

Arana, the 'team' leader, sat on the right arm of Riley's chair. Her perfectly pale legs were resting in his lap while her torso was pressed against his intimately; they weren't together. Oh, no! Arana was with Garrett, she just loved to be with Riley because he was her second, and he was very handsome.

Arana was gorgeous by all standards. She wasn't sickly skinny to the point where her ribs were threatening to tear through her skin; no, Arana had the perfect slim athletic body most would kill for. Her perfect heart face had a small dainty nose and slim blood red lips. Her dark blonde hair was set so it hung over one shoulder in loose wide curls. Arana's eyes shone like the most coveted diamonds; they were the color of the sky after a storm, a clear crystal like grey. Her eyes were constantly outlined with black eyeliner, making her eyes seem deadly and piercing. She wasn't full of herself like Kendall and Kylie. Arana knew her place well; she _was_ at the top of the pyramid.

The pyramid went like this: Arana, Riley, Garrett, Seth, Jet, Heidi, James, Kylie, Kendall, Cam, Rebecca, and Callie. Callie sat at the bottom because she had yet to prove herself. Rebecca and Cam were low because they had been accused, more than once, of being traitors to the other spirit users of the house and to Anastasia herself. Their standing in the pyramid also determined where they stayed in the house.

The first floor of the 'Clubhouse' was dedicated to a complicated maze, the kitchen, the recreational room, and the lone hallway that lead them there. The maze was meant to confuse trespassers, were they able to get into the house, and keep them in walking in circles until someone came around and found them. If one were to take the correct sequence of twists and turns, that person would arrive at one very large door that led into the hallway. From there were two more doors; one led to the kitchen and the other to the recreational room.

The second floor held rooms, as did the third. The spirit users on the bottom filled the rooms on the second floor, the higher ups on the third. So, Callie, Rebecca, Cam, Kendall, Kylie, and James all occupied the second. Heidi, Jet, Seth, Garrett, Riley and Arana occupied the third. On the fourth floor of the mansion were simply two rooms. One of the rooms belonged to Anastasia, and to Robert on the rare occasion he showed up and stayed. The other room held much darker things; were you to just pass by, you could hear the screams and the crunching of bones. It was a chilling experience. In the back was a pool that was rarely used. Overall, the house was perfect for the coven of spirit users.

And it kept an eye on all of Anastasia's little '_pets'_.

-o.o-

Dimitri and Rose finally decided that the world shouldn't have to wait too long, or a certain Moroi queen was sure to show up at the doorstep and drag them back to the castle. Rose shuffled into the black Mercedes and flipped open the pocket mirror she found in the cup holder. Her hair looked messy and her lips were red and swollen from Dimitri nibbling them. Rose put the mirror back and stayed quiet as she waited for Dimitri to find his way to the _very_ nice car. He did find his way, smiling all the way, to the car and hopped into the driver's seat. Dimitri looked at Rose and leaned over to give a small peck before starting the car.

Rose could feel the engine purr and smiled lightly as she pet the dashboard. She liked this car a lot. Dimitri tore through the onslaught of traffic, barely missing the white minivan that had dared get in the Russian's way. The town went by in a blur, and soon they reached the widespread fields of flowers that greeted them before dumping them at the edge of town. The Diamond Castle wasn't much of a castle… Well, technically it was. There was indeed a large intimidating stone castle on the land, but that wasn't where Dimitri drove the car. He passed through the great stone gates and towards a smaller looking house, a little bigger than Mia's house, which housed all of them at one point or another).

He shut the engine off in front of the home and got out, waiting for Rose to follow his actions. Rose got out and was wrapped in the protective curl of Dimitri's arms. They made their way inside, where it was completely polished white tiles; nothing in the room was any other color. Dimitri pulled Rose to the steel doors and waited. Sure enough the doors let out a '_bing'_ and the metal doors scraped opened.

Getting inside, Rose realized she had absolutely no idea what she was getting into. Sex with Dimitri must have fogged up her head because she wasn't really remembering anything outside of his grip, his lips, and the beautiful smell of Dimitri. The doors closed and the elevator dropped down. Rose suddenly felt nauseous, her stomach missing and her heart snug in her throat. They stepped out together and walked past the blank white tiled walls.

Finally, a door had appeared. Rose thanked whoever had put it there because she wasn't really up for walking. Dimitri pushed it open and let go of Rose, letting her follow, but only if she wanted to. And she did, if not only to be near Dimitri again. She curled against him and ducked her head, hoping he would take the initiative to hold her again. Rose loved the feel of his abs pressing against her and his biceps protecting her from danger, and the cold.

Lissa, Christian, Sydney, Mason, Mia, Eddie, and a few others were in the room. The majority were huddled together whispering something about…

"Rose? Is that you?"

"My baby!"

Two people came to her then; an older man who looked like he was a hard-ass mob boss and a woman who looked like she dealt with hard-asses all her life. And Rose knew these two people well; in fact they were the only two people she knew on her own.

"Mom, Dad? I thought you were dead!" Rose moved forward to embrace Janine Hathaway and Ibrahim Mazur. Lissa had turned to see the commotion and smiled. Christian grimaced as he took in Rose making up with her mother and father, the situation worrying him.

"Why would you be worried, Christian? We have our daughter back, which is a good thing." Janine's hard eyes flashed to him. She watched as he swallowed back his fear of Janine; she _was_ a badass.

"How is it that Rose, remembers you two? It only proves that Anastasia took time, a lot of time, to erase certain parts of her memory. She wanted Rose to remember you; otherwise Rose wouldn't have a clue to who you all are. But what bothers me most, is that Rose seemed to think you were dead… Any clue why?"

Janine and Abe shook their heads in unison. The last they had seen their daughter was before she took off with Dimitri on that vacation to the island.

Christian grunted and plopped down into an empty office chair. He swung back and forth trying to figure it out. Dimitri led Rose from her parents to another office seat and smiled when she instead sat on his lap.

"Well, onto something that is a little more pressing… Victor. He killed Rachel Espinoza… I'm not sure what's going through his head right now, but he must have a death wish."

"How so? It's not like anyone could stop him, let alone kill the bastard." Janine countered against Lissa, who shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm not sure on that part yet, but not too many people were pleased with his actions. Riots broke out two hours after they broadcasted the report of her death." Christian grunted after the last part. He seemed very tired and in need of some food.

Sydney shuffled self-consciously before offering up more information, "Like I had said previously, I have deals with some of the Moroi in Anastasia's presence. Riley, my friend, knows what's been up. Much like Dimitri had Arana compelling him, Victor had someone compelling him to kill the girl out of rage."

"Who the hell is compelling Dashkov? The man hardly listens to the maids!" Abe looked at Sydney in outrage.

"Garrett is compelling Victor, much like Arana did with Dimitri. But, it doesn't matter they-" Sydney broke off when Janine glared at her harshly.

"How many spirit users are here, in the city?" To that, Sydney looked down. She knew how many, but it would be unsettling to the others to find out that they were all being constantly watched and followed.

"There are twelve of them here…" The group began muttering and whispering, not knowing what else they were supposed to do. Twelve Moroi had turned on them in their own city; this was going to be getting out of hand.

They stayed quiet for a long moment. Sonya and Mikhail were supposed to meet up with Oskana and Mark to help the campaigns against blood whore use in California. That was where a witness had last seen Robert Deru, and if they were lucky, Anastasia too. In different parts of America, Moroi were slowly starting to break out of the compulsion. It was a good sign, but a very bad as well. If people broke out of their compelled state and they liked the blood whore use, it'd stay; and that's what had them worried.

After that, Sydney came up with a plan of action before Adrian came stumbling in drunk.

"Itz okaah. We've got tah stuph." He grinned before Sydney helped him into a chair; even when they weren't together she helped him. Christian's eyes narrowed on the ex-couple and couldn't help but smirk. _Doesn't matter if he cheats, Sydney will still be head over heels for him. _

Everyone wasn't surprised at Adrian's drunkenness, not even the very confused Rose. She smiled at them and couldn't but notice how cute they were together; she secretly hoped they looked just as cute when Dimitri held her or cared for her. She liked that too, always being secured by her supposed fiancé; it made her stomach fill with butterflies, fluttering around so much it was difficult to not be awkward.

During the smiles and laughter, Rose felt a pain. It started in the center of her forehead, but gradually spread throughout and then gathered in her temples. She let a silent grunt at the sudden burst of pain. It was burning the inside of her head and no matter how hard she rubbed her temples, it only grew.

Dimitri was the first to notice, Rose went tense and then she doubled over. Calmly he called attention to her pain and ordered Lissa to help, since Adrian was in no condition to do anything but gurgle and slur.

Lissa crouched down next the pained Rose, "Rose? Hey, tell me what hurts or better yet, sit up and I can try to heal it away." Lissa's hands went to her, Rose's, shoulders. They tried to lift her up, but Rose struck out at Lissa, causing the queen to fall back against Christian. Dimitri picked Rose up, and that's when she started wailing and screaming.

"Make it stop! Get away from me! I'll claw your eyes out; get _**AWAY**_!" She slapped Dimitri, shoved at her parents, and clawed at Mason when he got too close.

"Damn, Hathaway, get a hold of yourself. What's wrong with her, Lissa?" But the only answer they could get out of Lissa were tense shoulders that lifted and fell as her jade eyes followed Rose. She had managed to break free from Dimitri before slamming face first into the white slabs of hard, glossy tile.

Rose's vision went fuzzy and she could barely make out the desperate calls of people all around her.

-o.o-

It smelt like roses, pure fluffy roses. She tilted her head slightly trying to enjoy more of the sun's rays, as well as more of his lips on her neck. She smiled lightly when she opened her eyes and saw her friends enjoying another day. It was peaceful, the birds were chirping, the grass had just recently dried from the early morning dew, and she was being held against a well built man. Oh yeah, life _was_ good.

Rose let out a bubble of laughter when Dimitri continued the assault on her neck while squeezing her sides playfully.

"Roza, don't you want to play?" She laughed again watching the mischievous glint in Dimitri's beautiful chocolate eyes. She was just about to respond when Dimitri's best friend, and Moroi charge, plopped down next to them. He grinned as Dimitri growled at his presence, ruining any chances of him getting lucky with Rose today.

"Hey man, mind if I borrow Rose for a minute? It won't take long, I promise." Dimitri muttered under his breath how much he _did_ mind, but quickly forgot about his revenge when Rose persuaded him with what he'd get if he let Ivan talk to her.

"I hope you've cleared your schedule, Roza, because I won't be letting you out of bed for a _month_." Rose shivered from the meaning of the words. She let her lower lip push out a little more and batted her eyelashes at Dimitri.

"Only a month?" Dimitri laughed and kissed her heavily in front of Ivan.

"I'm not sure if I should be blushing or creeped out…" he had said after Dimitri left to go help Eddie get out of the hole. Eddie had been trying to impress Mia with his soccer skills when he fell into a rather large hole. 'A really big gopher must have dug this,' he had said, his face going crimson from embarrassment.

Ivan scooted closer to Rose.

"Are you ready for when all of this ends? There won't be any more peaceful strolls in the park once the others get here…" Rose's expression fell solemnly. She knew what had to happen, she knew that Dimitri wouldn't be focused on her for however many months it took, but she was the one who had started this.

"I know that. But, I _did_ start this; it's my responsibility. Besides, I came up with the stupid plan; you would hope I would be ready for when the shit hits the fan." Ivan nodded absently, watching Christian chase Lissa around, his bright blue eyes crinkling when she kissed him.

"Do you think he's ready?" Rose looked out to where Christian had caught Lissa. He was twirling her around before wrapping his arms around her.

"He is; he's just enjoying what little time they have," Ivan brought his knees to his chest, something he rarely did. He nodded before asking Rose what the game plan was.

"Well, the Strigoi are going to some in over there," Rose pointed to the horizon in the west, "And then they'll swarm into the valley here. I get everyone to move and you and Christian will… do your thing. After that, the two of you will be gone and I'll gather them to the island, meet you guys back up in Montana and then we'll end this once and for all. Anastasia won't see what hit her…"

They both looked back at their friends. Adrian and Sydney were trying to coax the squirrels closer while Viktoria giggled at them. Eddie was still being pulled out by Dimitri and Mason, while Mia snickered and Jill smiled fondly at the boys. Lissa and Christian were still playfully kissing and chasing, not really paying mind to the others. And then, disaster struck.

Ivan was the first to notice the Strigoi at the horizon. He motioned to Rose and she nodded getting ready to start the big plan.

"Rose, wait… Those aren't our Strigoi…" Rose looked up and sure enough it wasn't the mild mannered idiots that had agreed to 'attack' them. In fact, these Strigoi looked like they meant business. Ivan yelled out to the others just as the Strigoi flooded over the side of the hill; there were at least ten of them, but through the chaos only five made it near them. Rose ducked under one of them, narrowly escaping the claws and fangs. Ivan sent a gale of wind, knocking down two of them while Dimitri staked the five farthest from the group. Mason and Eddie tag teamed the two on the ground before staking them; that left three Strigoi. They were getting closer to the safe house and Rose's heart jumped into her chest. She threw Lissa at Dimitri and pushed everyone in.

They had just barely made it and the steel doors were slowly closing, not fast enough to keep out the Strigoi that were desperately trying to snatch someone. Christian looked to Rose and Ivan, and all three nodded. He got too close to one of the very determined hands and was yanked out of the house; Ivan 'tried' to pull him back to get yanked out with Christian. The three Strigoi were backing away now, they had got their food, but Rose needed to get out of there. She looked back at Dimitri before slipping between what little space was left, and the doors clanked closed. She could hear Lissa, Dimitri, and Viktoria screaming for them, she could hear their fists pounding, and she could hear the others crying out. Rose turned her back to the door and watched as Christian readied himself. He shot fire out at his Strigoi capture until he fell to the ground with a scream, Rose pulling out her stake and taking care of him. Ivan smacked his captor with another gust of wind, the remaining Strigoi fled when he saw Rose attack his fallen comrade.

Christian paled when he saw Ivan tilt his head, "Come on, Christian. It's now or never; those doors will open and when they do, you and Ivan need to hightail it out of here." Christian sucked in a breath and tore into Ivan's throat. Blood trickled down his chin as he slurped up the remaining blood from Ivan's body. He fell limply against Christian's shoulder. Christian brought up his cut wrist and let it rest on Ivan's parted lips. He fed his blood back into Ivan, turning to look at Rose with his newly bloodied eyes.

Ivan pushed away when he had enough to turn. They both coughed up blood, unable to keep their throats still.

"Okay boys, make it look good and don't forget, hold onto your humanity until we can get back to you and reverse this." They nodded grimly before closing in on Rose. They tried to roughen her up so it looked like she was attacked by the Strigoi before giving her one last glance and bolting out of the clearing.

Rose decided it was appropriate to cry for her friends, to cry because she had just betrayed people close to her; and she let out a heart crushing wail. The doors slid open again and Dimitri held Rose tight against his chest. With no sign of Ivan or Christian the others let their heads drop; no one had suspected anything from Rose, even when she had, shakily, given them the full description of what had happened.

True to her word, Rose got the group to refocus and, eventually, go to the island. Instead of Rose leaving to get back to the two boys, Anastasia had ambushed them and dragged them off the island. But, how could Rose have foreseen that her greatest plan would backfire in the way that it did. She thought she was protecting them from a fight that they didn't need to get involved in. The Strigoi, Anastasia, it was all things that Lissa didn't need to be worried about; nobody should have to pay for what Rose had done. And yet… everyone had paid.

**Author's Note:**

**Gasp! What? Well, that was the first nonsexual chapter ever written for this story… Yep, the world is ending! :) So, what did you think?**

**I'm not sure how I feel about this and I'm the one who wrote it… Is that bad? :) Props to Tatiana Belikova! You rock!**

**And thank you to Only The Lucky, RozaRocks, Callista Wolfwood, XxXLost-In-The-CrowdXxX, Sel14, Do'B, and Daddys little crazy bitch; getting reviews makes me smile, and because you have given them of your own will, I say again THANK YOU! :) **

**The poll results are in and three of the readers said 'Hell Yes' to another AU. Well, there are three to choose from and their summaries will be posted at a later date. I'd just like to say this now; one of them is not mine! The plot belongs to Tatiana Belikova and she so kindly let me write it! Thank you, Tatiana! :) **

**And for the Russian in the beginning of the chapter, what he said was, "Say it again, Rose"**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please send me some feedback via review of PM. And if someone answer me this, can people anonymously review? My mobile account says no and my desktop account doesn't give you a choice… Just curious. Thank you for reading, please review!**

**-Lolita**


	15. Chapter 15

Anastasia dismissed them from the impromptu meeting one by one with a flick of her wrist. First Callie, then Rebecca; they all seemed to pour out of the room slowly like honey on a cold day. Cam, Kendall and Kylie, and then James soon joined them. Each of their faces was pulled into a tight, worried expression and not knowing what else to do, they silently went to their individual rooms. Anastasia was tense and the only people she wanted to _really_ see today were Riley and Arana; and that made sense, she could only trust those two because they were so devoted to pleasing her.

Heidi, Seth, Jet, and a very reluctant Garrett all left together. Heidi didn't waste a second and made a break for the front door; she was late for work at the 'Church'. Jet sat down patiently by Seth, who was stressing out more than he should, and carefully pulled Seth into his lap. He could feel the tension roll of Seth, he could smell the fear that lay within him; none of this comforted Jet. Seth shouldn't have to fear Anastasia, but he did and there was nothing Jet could do about it.

"I- I have to do something! I need to get back to Rose soon, she needs to be compelled; I haven't been keeping up and if Anastasia finds out, I'll be a dead man…" Jet grunted and pushed Seth closer to him, the only thing separating them was the thin layer of cloth from their t-shirts. The two held onto each other; they knew that sooner or later Anastasia was going to get tired of the slow progress. So, with little argument, mostly because Jet knew how dangerous it could be to try and force a connection, Seth prepped himself and relaxed into the couch.

Jet sat next to him, shaking his head in dismay; this was going to bite them in the ass… and it did.

One second Seth is reaching out for Rose spiritually, the next Seth starts screaming for it to stop. He wailed and clawed at his skin. His shrill shrieks were attracting attention; Garrett had stopped pacing to watch as Seth convulsed and everyone who had gone upstairs, raced down to see what was going on.

"Make it stop! Get away from me! I'll claw your eyes out; get AWAY!" he snapped, pure rage and hate dripping off of the words. The words were so strong, they even made Jet flinch back from his boyfriend; his boyfriend that was currently trying to bleed himself out. If they looked close enough, they could see the absolute terror held in Seth's blue eyes. Jet tried to get a hold on his small boyfriend, but when Jet got too close to Seth; his face received some very deep cuts. Jet clenched his teeth to keep himself from howling in pain, causing him to release his grip on Seth.

He stumbled forward and slammed into one of the many potted plants placed in the room and it shattered everywhere. Seth's forearm was cut deep and the smell of iron and power overtook the air.

Anastasia slammed the door wide to see the boy still screeching, holding his arm to his chest.

"What in the world is going on out here? How can I trust you all to work, when you can't even handle a little scratch?" Her usual pale face was flushed in anger; she looked like she was about to start growling like a dog from the way she puffed up. Well, she _was_ growling.

"He tried to make a connection to Rosemarie Hathaway…" All eyes turned to Jet; his voice was crystal clear, despite how his teeth were clenched and ground together. At the angle he was looking up at Anastasia everyone had a clear view of his strange eyes; one was blue and the other green. The other spirit users were shocked to have heard his voice, his beautiful clear voice that could silence anyone, and to have seen those mysterious eyes, the eyes that pierced through everyone; everyone except Anastasia.

She let out a haughty laugh before returning Jet's gaze, "I see now. Your boy thought to force it upon her and it backfired. Well, I could have told you as much. He cannot place a bond there because there is already one in place; mine." She smiled viciously before turning on her heels and going upstairs. The others watched sullenly before dispersing, leaving Seth crying out 'Bloody Mary'. Jet let out a frustrated sigh and picked Seth up.

Arana all but dragged Riley from the room, Garrett was concocting a 'plan' with the twins (let it be known that that was a disaster waiting to happen), James wanted to double check on all of the protesters, which left the faux family with Jet and Seth.

It was beginning to get uncomfortable with Rebecca's bright eyes analyzing everything, but when Callie's began to imitate Rebecca's perfectly, Jet lost it.

"What?" Even in anger, Callie thought his voice was amazing.

"What's a connection? Anastasia also mentioned a forced bond thingy… what's that?" Her eye's never left his, it was a wonder he hadn't just left her.

Putting a soothing hand on Seth before making him sleep, Jet answered softly, "Well, a connection is a term that 'Anastasia's helpers' use. You've heard of being shadow-kissed right? It's like that, but without the perks. Instead of bringing someone back from the dead, you're reaching into their mind and placing a piece of yourself there. It links you; it's also seen as a forced bond, but that sounds harsh."

"So, Anastasia beat Seth to it?"

"No, she deliberately kept this from him… I don't know why, but it probably had something to do with the side effects."

"What side effects?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions… Seth reacted violently to the spirit backfiring into him, along with some of Anastasia's; that's why he was acting like that. Well, Rosemarie, she's connected to Anastasia, and Seth tried to break into that. I'm guessing Rosemarie is going through the same thing right now…"

Callie blinked up at him trying to process all of this new information. Rebecca and Cam towed Callie away so Jet could sit with his Seth.

-o.o-

"Riley… I wish you would just see it my way; I like Garrett, but I like you more. Why is that such a big deal?"

"It will inevitably get in the way of our work; and anyways, I don't reciprocate your feelings." Arana's eyes narrowed, _he_ didn't want _her_?

"Like I said, not a big deal; besides, I don't let anything distract me from my work, unlike you." Riley watched her carefully, trying to assess whether or not she had confidence in his betrayal to her, Anastasia, and the rest of the house residents. Arana made no attempt in explaining herself, she just walked away from Riley in a huff, almost smacking into the newcomer.

"I take it things aren't working out?" Riley looked back at the late arrival and shrugged.

"We aren't going out, Mr. Doru. I've told you that many times."

"Please, call me Robert." Robert walked into the kitchen and placed the four bags of groceries on the counter before trying to figure out where their contents went. Several times Robert had to ask Riley where they put the crackers, soup, plastic forks, and napkins and each and every time, Riley answered firmly with a wry smile. _For someone who's supposed to be the mastermind in this, he's awfully clueless._

Riley excused himself from Robert and left the house all together. He wanted to get some distance from Arana and her weird issues, Anastasia and her controlling nature, and just the overall gloom of the house. With Seth out of commission, Jet would need to step up and fill in for the vacant duties. Riley knew for a fact that Jet was in no shape to go out and compel Rose into another state of forgetfulness.

It was also pretty obvious that Riley didn't want to compel Rose anymore due to her unnatural overexposure to spirit already.

So, Riley sent a text to Jet saying he'd cover Seth's jobs and then sent a text to Sydney telling her to meet him at the coffeehouse ten blocks from the Rinaldi and Mastrano's place. Sydney quickly replied to Riley.

_'OK! See you in 15? Have to finish something with others :)'_

-o.o-

It was silent; almost too much for Rose to handle. The past few weeks had been pain, red hot passion, and remorse. All of the emotions within Rose had gone out of whack, her head was in a constant tizzy, but Dimitri had kept her grounded. There was truth in his words about their love; there had to be!

Dimitri's comforting embrace seemed to be the only thing that kept Rose from screaming and running.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut tighter together before groaning and rolling over further into the strong muscular arms that encased her. She breather in the heavy scent and grinned, knowing it was Dimitri above and around her.

Struggling to regain control of her loose limbs, she tumbled over him, sat upon his abdomen, and splayed her hands across his chest.

"Someone looks like they're feeling better. Do you have any idea what happened to you, Rose? Are you alright?" Dimitri stared into Rose's eyes trying to decipher any unconscious signals she may be sending him.

"I'm fine, really." With each word spoken, Rose slid farther down his abdomen until, finally, she was spread out across him, "So fine, in fact, that I may be up to… more entertaining activities." She winked at Dimitri and shook her ass playfully, causing Dimitri to laugh. Rose frowned; she wasn't trying to be funny, she was trying to get in his pants.

"Oh Rose, you're lucky we're not at the castle anymore, there were cameras everywhere in there." He ran his fingers through her hair, guiding her face closer to his, "Don't frown, beautiful, I was laughing at how flirtatious you're acting. I love you Rose," He leaned up to peck her lips and it was sweet, but Rose wanted something a little more than sweet.

She moaned into his mouth and gasped when Dimitri let out a growl. It was rough, low, throaty, and all around the sexiest thing she had ever heard in her life. He tugged off Rose's white knit sweater, his mouth now placing open kisses down her neck, getting closer to her breasts with each passing second.

They broke apart for air and Dimitri took this chance, "Rose, you were in a lot of pain thirty minutes ago and you were hurting, so-" He was cut off when Rose collided into him again. He pushed against her, letting her earlier outburst leave him. If Rose wanted hot passionate sex, who was he to deny her?

Dimitri grasped her thighs and pulled her against his hardened member, thrusting up occasionally.

Rose let out a pure, uncensored moan; which only made Dimitri buck up more.

There was another moment of lust-drunk fumbling. Rose eagerly tried to rid Dimitri of his shirt, so she could feel his muscles ripple under her fingertips, and his pants, so she would be that much closer to Dimitri filling her up. All the while, Dimitri was having trouble removing Rose's skin tight leggings that encased her beautifully tanned legs. She moved enthusiastically against him, making the task even more difficult, but the reward would be worth it.

Finally, all obstacles were removed and it was just bare flesh and bare flesh.

Dimitri caressed Rose's body and kissed every inch of her. He bit her side playfully before licking, sucking, and kissing it. She let her hands wander lower, down to his erect penis and moved her fingers along his shaft. Dimitri bucked up into her hand and tangled his hand in her long curls.

"Rose…"

"No; I'm done being good, Dimitri. I want you and you want me. Let's not delay this any longer." Rose made her move, and positioned herself over his hardened cock. They pushed against each other sloppily, both wanting – needing – to come undone. He grabbed her hips and pushed her down as he thrust up, hitting Rose just right. She let out another moan and rubbed herself against Dimitri shamelessly.

Growling into his ear, Rose tried to quicken the pace; her head was on fire and she was slowly being consumed by the flames. It was smothering her; she couldn't get there fast enough.

Finally, Rose let out a cry and collapsed on top of Dimitri, who came with a grunt. She laid her head on his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart; it was comforting to hear something so steady in a world that had gone to crap.

"Rest now; you've exerted yourself far too much today." And with that, they both fell asleep.

-o.o-

There was a soft rustling from the foot of the bed. Dimitri opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand; it was two in the morning. He was about to throw a pillow at Rose for waking him up when she spoke.

"Dimitri… you've been very, very naughty." There was a menacing chuckle when she finished. That chuckle didn't sound like anything he had ever heard Rose do. He looked up for Rose, but found her tucked away at his side.

He whipped his head back to the foot of the bed to see the figure still grinning at him. The moon's light spilled through the blinds, making it possible for him to see the figures teeth; fangs.

Dimitri moved to his stake, but the figure was faster; it had him pinned to the soft pillows. He peered into her stormy eyes and suddenly couldn't look away. She moved her head back, just so that the light illuminated her face; Arana was holding him captive.

"Now, about you being naughty… I rather like it. Seeing you get it on with Rose? It isn't horrible… but being able to see your face when you let loose; that's my _favorite_ part." Arana trailed her sharpened nails against his chin, dragging them until they were at his chest. She made a quick motion, and dug her nails right between a pair of his ribs. Dimitri groaned and tried to push her back.

"Stop that Dimitri. It isn't good for you to try and fight this off. I have been compelling you for a very long time; don't think that I haven't been tailing you. I will never lose you in this little cat and mouse game of ours." She busied her other hand with his thigh, dragging the sharp tips over the soft flesh before jabbing them down. Again and again, she tore at him; his vision swam from the blood loss. When she was done ripping him open, she bit his throat.

"I'm sorry that you got involved this way, I am, but if you drop Rose and run… I'll convince Anastasia to spare you. You can take Viktoria and go home! Please, if Anastasia can have Rose, you can live with your friends, I promise." Her eyes were pleading as she wiped his blood from her eternally stained lips.

Dimitri's eyes slid shut, and then opened again when he felt Arana's spirit flood him. With renewed strength, and a weaker Arana, Dimitri pounced. He threw her off and slammed her against the door leading to the bathroom.

"Don't you ever come into this house and assume I wouldn't kill you!" He had his hand curled around her throat, but he forgot to look away.

"Dimitri, obey me," Her words rang clear in his head, "Let me go and go back to bed. I only wanted to remind you that you will never escape me, and through me Anastasia. If she wants you to dance the tango, you'll do it."

Dimitri let Arana go and reluctantly went back under the soft silk covers of his bed. He slid in next to Rose, careful not to jostle her, and looked back up to Arana's face.

"I want you to lead them to the 'Church' tonight. Its karaoke and I promise it'll be one hell of a night. Speak of this to no one. Good night Dimitri," Arana smiled at him adoringly and Dimitri found himself being smothered by the need to sleep. He didn't feel Arana's cool lips on his, or her hands tracing his face lightly; he couldn't possibly have felt the sadness and longing when Arana left the house.

-o.o-

It was twelve when he woke up again.

Dimitri flew up straight, panic shooting through him when Rose wasn't there. In a split second his mind was racing, trying to figure out if Arana had taken her when she put him to sleep. All of the possibilities stopped short when he saw steam escape the bathroom.

With a small smile, he stood up and walked to the bathroom. Rose was washing her hair and singing some stupid song that made him want to chuckle. He held it in though, wanting to sneak up on Rose.

Dimitri walked right into the shower, they had never redressed themselves when they fell asleep, and blew at Rose's bare neck.

She jumped ten feet high at the cold air and turned to face the culprit. Dimitri laughed at the betrayed look on her face and pulled her into a kiss.

"Good morning to you too, Comrade Want to go make me some breakfast? I'm starved!" Dimitri stepped back to look at Rose again. She seemed different; something was missing. When Rose smacked Dimitri's chest playfully and went back to showering, Dimitri figured it out. The compulsion was wearing off faster! She wasn't being the shy little thing Anastasia had left her.

_'No matter what you _do_, no matter how many times you _break_ me or _compel_ me, I _will_ be Rose. And you can _never_ take that away from me, you bitch!'_

Dimitri smiled and nodded. He padded downstairs after finding a pair of boxers. He went to the fridge in the kitchen, and grabbed a pack of bacon. It was the one thing Rose had to have when she ate breakfast. It was going to be a good day.

**Author's Note:**

**I just narrowly escaped another shower sex scene! Oh god, that was really close :)**

**Okay, so just very quickly, I now realize that Dimitri was nude when Arana attacked him… I'm going to keep it that way. She got see his **_**bits**_**… **

**Thank you to Roza Rocks, Callista Woolfwood, and Only The Lucky! **

**To Guest (who reviewed chapter 10), I just used Google translate… I don't speak Russian, though that would be really cool. **

**So I said I would be putting up summaries for the three AUs at a later date… Well, I guess this is a later date :)**

**Flying Home – Dimitri Belikov, the serious editor from New York City, is flying to Los Angeles to open up another office for the magazine he works for. Complications with his flight occur and he ends up stranded in Golden Valley, Montana. Dimitri has two weeks to get back to the city, but he also has two weeks alone with someone sweet. This is the one that TatianaBelikova came up with!**

**The Land Beyond The Sea – ****Rosemarie Mazur has always wanted to be different from everyone else in her part of the world. She was ruled down by her father, Ibrahim, on doing anything that may cause her harm; even refusing to let her go explore the surface world. The young mermaid wants nothing more than to be free and enjoy all that the land offers. Rebelling against her father is one thing, but she's breaking all the rules and Dimitri doesn't mind one bit.**

**Two Worlds – Rosemarie Mazur and Vasilisa Dragomir have been coddled all their royal lives. And although, Lissa can handle it, Rose has gotten entirely sick of it. She decides to spend one day as a common person and sees how they live. She is in love with the idea of being a commoner, even if she just wants to get closer to the servant of the Ivashkov's.**

**There you go! I'm excited to write 'Flying Home'! It's making me all jittery; woo-hoo! Okay, back to the serious stuff! All three are not going to be smut 24/7; it just wouldn't make any sense… but there will be lots of Rose and Dimitri. I can promise that much :)**

**Thank you for reading! If you want, you know you do, leave a review for me! Thanks again! :)**

**-Lolita**


	16. Chapter 16

**(This first part takes place just after Rose has her freak out and Dimitri takes her home!)**

Thunder clapped in the sky and held Riley's attention for a few mere seconds before he resumed observing the crowd of people before him. Even in shades, a heavy coat, and a flashy scarf, it was a very real possibility that someone would recognize him.

He sent a quick text to Sydney: ' _the coffeehouse on Broadway… txt me when you get close,' _He looked back at the giggling girls in the corner of the coffeehouse; they kept pointing at him and trying to capture his attention. Riley couldn't decide whether or not he should just flip them off to keep them away, but he realized that doing just that would attract more attention than he needed.

All Riley really wanted to do today was to find the nearest park and fall asleep under the pouring rain. He was not a fan of staying indoors when the weather was this beautiful. Riley was just about to get up and grab the table by the window that had just been vacated when someone grabbed his attention.

"I'm sorry, but this seat has been taken," he mumbled half-heartedly; the table had just been stolen by a study group from the local school.

"I won't be too long, Riley. I just needed to see you." It was that voice that forced Riley to look up at the blue eyed beauty standing in front of him, raven hair wavy from the onslaught of rain, with her hands positioned on her hips. Riley couldn't keep the disbelief out of his eyes.

"What- How are you…" He trailed off, unable to produce the words that were bouncing around inside of him. All of the pent up moments just flooded out. He stood, strikingly fast, and held the girl to him, his hand sweeping around her waist.

"I didn't know when I could see you again… I mean… You're supposed to be underground right now…" The blue eyed beauty backed away from him, but was still trapped in his arms.

"I heard you were going to see Sydney," That was all she gave away, but it left Riley floundering. He wanted her to stay, but the attention they were now receiving was dangerous to both of them; plus Sydney would be there soon and it would have been rather awkward explaining this all.

"I- I'm not with Sydney; I'm only following your orders…"

"But, you like her. Don't try to deny it Riley; you light up when she's around."

"That's because I like being able to talk to someone who hasn't been forced to speak with me, who isn't being compelled to like me, or someone who keeps running away every time she thinks I'm getting too _serious_!" The words started off soft and emotionless, but with Riley, emotions ran higher than they would have with any 'normal' person.

"I just don't want you to get hurt Riley. I'm not who you think I am…" Riley tried to comment, his words were cut off by a harsh buzzing. He turned to look out of the rain streaked window to see Sydney typing away at her phone's keyboard.

Riley snatched the girl's wrist before she could escape, "Priscilla, please! I'm not Adrian and I don't care who you are! Just- tell me when we'll see each other next?" Riley was frantically trying to keep the still young Zeklos at his side as she remained adamant about leaving before Sydney got to the entrance.

"Sooner than you may think…"

"Doubtful, knowing you," he muttered back. She wasn't going to try and see him again; he would have to seek her out all over again.

"Weirder things have happened." With that, she disappeared; much like lightning did, snapping down for a brief and heavenly second, before disappearing with a flash. Unlike lightning, though, Priscilla blended into the crowd of over caffeinated civilians with ease. Riley had to agree with her, and slumped back down in his chair, trying to recompose himself.

Truth was he did like Sydney Sage; he had liked her the second he laid eyes on her. She was professional and the most adorable girl he had ever met. Sydney was strictly business around some, but the lucky ones got to see that small spark of untapped life within her; in short, Riley was obsessed. Riley wasn't easy to impress either. He needed a constant challenge to keep him going and motivated; some saw this as his game, but it was more than that. Riley didn't play games; games had losers. No, Riley worked life; he didn't manipulate the rules and force himself on top. Riley was a king in his own way.

However, his love of challenges made those around him think he was superior and crude. Riley gravitated toward both Sydney and Priscilla because they didn't think that of him. Let it be heard that even Arana didn't think that of him, not that he ever really cared what she thought though. Sydney, he liked. Priscilla, he loved; and he wouldn't deny it.

On several occasions he had slaved over files and paperwork just so that he could see Priscilla smile when it was over. And on even more occasions he had dragged her to forests and lakes, letting her soak up nature like a sponge. He was a sucker for her, and she knew it well. That's what had complicated things.

Adrian loved her too, and he was left high and dry, but he had eventually found Sydney. Riley didn't want a 'Sydney' if he could have Priscilla, and even then he couldn't have Sydney because she was taken… sort of; her recent break-up left room for negotiation.

Riley looked up when his phone buzzed against the table, its incessant clamor dragging Riley from his thoughts. '_Riley, are you still here?'_

Riley's reply was instant_. 'What do you think?'_

'_Is that a yes, Riley? ." '_

'_Well, Sage, look who's getting snippy now. ;) '_

'_Don't flirt with me. Where are you?'_

'_I wasn't. I'm the guy in the Edward Cullen pea coat and the pedo-glasses. I'm kind of hard to miss'_

Riley could see Sydney's smile from his seat in the corner. He watched her from behind his sunglasses as she slowly sauntered over to their table. She sat down silently, smile still in place and golden lily flashing every time she moved her head. Riley leaned on the table, braced by his forearms, and slid his sunglasses off of his brilliant eyes. Sydney slid forward as well, and they spent the next couple of seconds studying each other's eyes.

"You aren't compelled." It wasn't a question, but Sydney replied still, stowing her phone in her purse and pulling out her wallet, both presents from Adrian.

"Of course not; you think they'd send me to meet you at here? If someone was going to compel me, they'd ask for information and then kill me; no muss, no fuss." Riley shivered; he didn't enjoy hearing Sydney say things like that.

"Well whatever the case, you're not compelled, which is a good thing," he said, hiding his discontent. "Anyways, how is Rose feeling?" Riley hoped he wasn't giving away too much knowledge. If Rose wasn't screaming like a banshee and trying to murder everyone in sight, then that was good. If she was screaming like a banshee and trying to murder everyone in sight, well… that wouldn't be so good.

"Rose is… I don't know… She was fine and then she snapped! Adrian said that maybe… maybe your friends are compelling her too much. Rose might be having a severe reaction, or something."

"Was she trying to claw anyone's eyes out? Did Rose have an unexplainable want for blood?" The questions sounded foreign to Sydney; Riley wouldn't have asked her this, not unless…

"Do you know what's happening to her?" Realization dawned on her, "You do! I know that look Riley! Tell me, now." Riley shifted uncomfortably before going into the story of Seth and how he was trying to make a connection to Rose. Sydney's response was typical; she questioned the sanity of his team member, to which Riley supplied her with a simple shrug and a small smirk.

After that, the conversation swam into comfortable waters again; the shark had been dodged. Riley updated Sydney on the progress of Anastasia's movements, neatly dodging her prodding questions about any Strigoi connections; Sydney didn't need to know that Anastasia kept a room full of hungry Strigoi upstairs… it wasn't necessary.

They spent the last few minutes of their meet talking about simple things; Rose, Callie, Dimitri, Arana, and then Adrian. The conversation turned reluctant at the subject, but Riley needed to clear the air and finally find out for himself if they were in fact broken up. It started out slow, but gained more emotion and with a little more explanation, Sydney was bawling. She let all of her pent emotions go with a flick.

He held onto her trembling body, breathing in her scent and enjoying their closeness. Riley held himself back though; he wanted to drag her into a kiss and find out if her lips were as soft and pliant as they looked. Instead, he backed off and pulled her back outside.

It was still pouring, and Riley's hair clung to his face. Rain, storm, it was all beautiful to him. He held Sydney close to him as they walked down the small outdoor shopping center. She curled into him, but thought nothing of the gesture; to her, she was keeping warm with a friend who was risking his life for the greater good of the world and to him, he was finally holding one of the two girls he had put his life on the line for. He liked the Dhampirs, but not enough to risk himself for their freedom; the only reason why he was brave enough now, was because Sydney and Priscilla encouraged him to do the right thing.

Riley and Sydney were now window shopping, her tears blending in with the downpour, and they were really enjoying each other's company.

Riley turned to point out the small puppy eagerly licking the glass window for attention, when he was shoved back. He collided into Sydney and they hit the glass, causing the puppy to yelp and jump back.

"Hey! Watch it! What the hell do you think you're- Callie?" He saw the young girl shivering against the rain and harsh wind. She looked up at him stunned.

"Riley? Who's that?" Riley pushed Sydney away from him and raced to find a name, any name.

"This is Lindsey… Lohan," he came to the unsteady conclusion and watched as Callie's face scrunched up in confusion as Sydney laughed.

"What he means, is that my name is Alexis. I'm a friend of his from California." She lied smoothly, and Riley barely suppressed a groan. He should have just said 'Sam' or something that wasn't stupid; he was known as being the rough and stoic second by his group, not an idiot who came up with the name Lindsey Lohan as a cover….

"Oh, well, hello Alexis; I don't think I've ever heard Riley mention you," Callie looked from Riley to Sydney and back, "But, I'm also new. Riley, can I borrow you for a minute; it's an emergency."

Riley denied her and turned, keeping Sydney at a safer distance from him. They started walking again when he heard it; the calling word Priscilla had once whispered in his ear right before he was kidnapped by Anastasia's thugs; the Russian word for storm,

"_Buria_,"

He shivered and, almost unwillingly, looked back to Callie. She stood still, her lips still forming the word, and her eyes pierced straight through him. It was an emergency.

"I- uh- have to go, Alexis… See you later?" Sydney nodded, but made no move to leave; instead, she stared after him. Riley walked back to Callie; his shoes filled with lead, and followed her when she began to walk.

They made several cuts through the alleys, and Riley felt as disoriented as he did nauseas. Finally, she stopped at a dead end, and that's when Riley bombarded her with a million questions; some coherent, others not so much…

Her personal favorite was, "Are you some new recruit that was picked off the streets and was trained to kill me for being disloyal?" Although he left out the tid-bit about Priscilla, it was safe to say, Callie knew about Sydney and how he had been giving them information about Anastasia.

"Relax, noob, I'm not here to cut off your junk. I have a job to do and you were there." It was almost startling to Riley to hear Callie drop the sweet innocent face, for the authoritative figure.

"I'm your superior, Callie. I don't know who you are, but you still treat me with respect as long as you are with Anastasia." It was a red hot lie. Riley was beginning to get nervous, his own dominant nature abandoning him to the wolves, or in this case, _the crazies._

"You should be kinder to your elders, Riley. It isn't nice to back talk them." Another figure turned the corner, followed by a much shorter one. Two sets of eyes gazed at him wearily, while the other set, belonging to the shorter figure, stared at him with trust.

Ivan Zeklos and Priscilla Zeklos…

Priscilla moved past Riley to the dead end wall. She rapped on it twice before a keyhole appeared. Priscilla produced a gleaming bronzed key with a small dove etched into the side of it. Unlocking the hidden door, the four of them step through to the other side.

"Wait, how can Callie be older than me? She doesn't even have her driver's license! Priscilla… what's going on?"

"Riley, Callie is over three hundred years old; she's a Strigoi," Priscilla sighed. Riley looked back at the adolescent – ancient – girl and blinked back confusion; he heard her mutter 'bitch' under her breath, "And I needed Callie to track Sydney down."

"Why? I was just with her!"

"Callie will be taking over your affairs. You need to focus on the bigger picture; something is going to happen tonight, I know it."

"What do you mean you 'know it'?"

"Can't you feel it in the air? The tension… everyone's so wound up about Victor killing those girls," _There was more than one girl?_ "And now, with Natasha being held captive by the protesters… Someone is bound to snap, and we need to make sure that there is minimal chaos."

Riley did a double take; _Natasha was kidnapped?_ James had said that everything was going fine with the Queen of Hearts just yesterday…

Callie sensed his confusion and smiled at him, "He didn't know about all of that Priscilla. You're going too fast for his simple mind to follow." They were still walking, now down the several flights of stairs that seemed familiar to Riley.

Ivan, who had stayed quiet during this time, piped up, "It doesn't matter if he's fast or slow; what matters is that he gets informed and is ready to take a hit when it comes down to it. Rose wanted this to go smoothly, obviously that didn't happen. So, I say we finish this once and for all." He turned and, with a face full of seriousness, walked on.

Riley gave up on trying to have a conversation with both Ivan and Callie; both had stopped talking and turned stony and stoic with a blink of the eye. Priscilla had tuned him out to keep a steady eye on the watch that clung to her wrist; a gift from Adrian, Riley noted ruefully. _Adrian just loves to buy useless shit for the girls I – he – loves._

The stairs ended with a plain door, that led to hallway, which led to another door, that led to a checkpoint (where the security staff got a little too touchy with him…), finally taking them to a large white room, that reminded Riley of the 'Men In Black' headquarters.

"Welcome to HQ; this will be our home away from hell- I mean home." Callie gestured to a group of young Moroi and led them to another set of doors. Priscilla motioned for Riley to follow her and Ivan into the grand office space. She left Riley in the very capable, and slightly frightening, hands of Ivan. He looked like he wanted to eat Riley alive.

"Don't worry, I don't bite… much," he said thoughtfully, "Come on; Priscilla has work to do and you need to get educated. About Priscilla… stay away from her. She's a good, honest girl and she doesn't need half-assed flakes in her life." Riley stopped with Ivan and looked up to meet determined eyes.

"I haven't been the greatest brother when it came to her love life, but I'm here now and I refuse to let you ruin her. Adrian Ivashkov screwed her over enough. So, stay the hell away from her."

Ivan started walking again, leaving Riley to stand there alone and uncertain. Ivan was right; he wasn't a good brother to Priscilla, but that didn't matter. Ivan's word was as absolute as Riley's love for Priscilla. Priscilla, in a word, was perfect.

From her earlier years of dating Adrian, Priscilla learned to be compassionate, loyal, whole hearted, loving, understanding, but also secretive, emotional, and a pushover. Through their break-up, Priscilla found a backbone; she learned to fight for herself both physically and verbally. She toughened up considerably, but now her heart was untouchable; she couldn't see past Adrian and how he drowned himself in alcohol, women, sorrow, and lust. She felt responsible for _his_ pain; and after the sting of their fight had died down, she realized they weren't made for each other and that he was better off without her.

They still spoke occasionally, hung around each other, and enjoyed the occasional hug, much to Ivan's displeasure; but all of this was due to the fact that Adrian had Sydney in his life now. Riley had seen her transformation, caught her at the tail end of her relationship with Adrian and he fell for her instantly, loving how she didn't need someone to pick her up and clean her wounds. That was the Priscilla he loved, the Priscilla he still loves.

Riley ignored the dull throbbing that overtook him and followed Ivan into a dimly lit room. There was a lengthy table in the center filled in with young Moroi, Dhampirs, humans, and Strigoi; Riley shuddered.

They were playing an instructional video where the actors were overly cheery and the victims' lines were obviously rehearsed, resembling the way a robot may speak. Riley was definitely being tortured because this, this right here, was horribly painful; and somehow the new recruits were able to stomach the bullshit spewing from the screen.

-o.o-

Sydney stood awkwardly watching Riley run off with the little girl who had uttered a single word. Eventually, she turned back around and continued her shopping. Thoughts drifting back to Adrian, Sydney sighed thoughtfully; he was beginning to become a recurring thought/dream/activity to her. She liked to think about the first time they met; everyone else liked to over exaggerate Adrian's role in saving her life, but it was still sweet nonetheless.

-o.o-

"_Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble, dear. I'll talk to you later." He hung up on Sydney without so much as a good-bye, but that was to be expected; this was a business deal._

_Sydney carefully maneuvered around the tourists in the streets of Rome, buzzing happily when they saw something that they thought to be foreign. _

"_Hey momma, look! A puppy! Do the Italy people have puppies like us?" Sydney rolled her eyes; Italy is not another planet, it's still in the same world as America. But, she ignored the smiles and the laughter trying to track down Rosemarie Hathaway, the daughter of her boss, Abe Mazur. _

_It was getting easier to keep up with her and her friend, when she had finally tracked them down to a small art gallery; they were going to the same spots a tourist may go. They were lazily walking the streets at an antique market; Sydney smiled as she saw little girls running amuck in the market and apparently Rose and her friend found it equally amusing. _

_Rose turned into an alley behind one of the stores to cross over to the fountain in one of the main squares when there was a loud crash. Sydney hurried to catch up, just in time to see five Strigoi close in on the pair. Without much knowledge in the art of staking Strigoi, Sydney was useless and they took advantage of that._

_The back two grabbed her and slammed her into the brick wall, preparing her for their bite. Rose lashed out and staked the one closest to Sydney's throat and Dimitri, her mysterious friend, staked the other._

_The two others pulled Rose back and Dimitri followed, helping Rose kick them off and stake them. The final one, however, had waited until Sydney was open again and made his move. His marble like hands clasped her wrists together and lowered himself to her throat._

_Just as he was about to bite, another man, Moroi this time, broke through and slammed up against the Strigoi. They tussled, the Moroi obviously losing, and the Strigoi bit the other man. Rose flung herself at the feeding Strigoi and staked him._

_Dimitri went to help lift Adrian, the Moroi, up. He shrugged them off, wobbly from the high of the bite, and went to Sydney who trembled in fear. The Strigoi had been so close to her throat…_

"_Hey, it's okay. He won't be getting you now; I promise. Rose, help her up and then we'll go somewhere in the open…" Adrian trailed off and slumped against Dimitri. _

_Sydney had never been so scared in her entire life…_

-o.o-

Sydney looked up, clearly dazed from remembering the past, and saw Adrian exit the bar. He stumbled out into the street, blindly grasping at something – anything – to keep him upright. Sydney sighed and went to him quickly.

"Even on your day off you get drunk. What's wrong with you?" She stared up at his slack face with unmasked disappointment. He looked down at her and gave her a soft smile…

"It's the only way I can get rid of these feelings for you… and it's not even working… Sydney," He pulled off of her and clutched her tightly, "I love you… please don't leave me again because I don't think I could-" He was cut off by soft lips that held his gently. She wouldn't leave him; it wasn't possible. They were meant for each other.

It was still early, so Sydney dragged the half drunk, half giddy Adrian back to her car. They drove to Lissa's castle and raided the kitchen for no reason. It was good to get drunk and just love.

-o.o-

**(Back to where chapter 15 left off)**

"Dimitri, do we have to go? I like you here… with me… naked and gorgeous…" She ended with a soft smile. Rose batted her lashes in an attempt to get Dimitri to submit, but he was dead set on gathering everyone up and heading straight for the 'Church'.

"Sorry, Roza, but I want to go; besides it'll be more fun if we're all there. You could sing…" He trailed off, lightly nipping her shoulder causing her to giggle and give in.

"Alright, but you do know that I can't carry a tune for shit right? Like, at all." She untangled herself from Dimitri and went back upstairs, "And you, mister, are cleaning up this mess! I don't want to see bacon on the floor when I get back!" She knew Dimitri was smiling when she left; how could he not?

Dimitri had made breakfast and halfway through watching Rose eat it, he had slammed her onto the table and had his wicked way with her. Yeah, Rose knew he was smiling.

She grabbed the first thing her fingers touched in her half of the closet, which just happened to be a white off shoulder ruffle dress that hung down mid thigh. She grabbed a pair of matching white ballet flats and skipped down to the bathroom to curl her hair. She hummed some nonsensical tune while she finished off her bangs.

Dimitri was waiting downstairs ready to go. He was sporting a grey v-neck, he somehow magically changed, and dark wash blue jeans. He looked gorgeous, but what else was new?

They strolled leisurely to Dimitri's car, hopped in, drove for what felt like hours (about fifteen minutes), and finally made it to Diamond castle. Dimitri corralled everyone; everyone being Mia, Eddie, Jill, Mason, a drunken Adrian, Sydney, Lissa, and a much stressed Christian; and they all set off to the 'Church'.

"I'm not sure I understand why we're going to a strip/whore club/den… Does this make sense to anyone else?" Christian looked away from the street before him for a second, and looked back to see a semi-truck getting ready to plough through them. He swerved back onto his side of the lane and shut up when everyone was tossed into each other.

"Let's not focus on anything but driving, yes?" Mia's eyes were narrowed slits, angry that her hair had been jostled around. Jill sat dazed, wondering how Adrian had landed in her lap when he was clearly sitting in the very back with Sydney, then waved happily at Rose. Dimitri had taken a separate car to the 'Church' and had only let Rose in with him; Jill didn't mind, but Lissa looked like a cat that had been thrown into a pool.

Everyone arrived safely, well almost…, and headed into the club jam packed with regular everyday people. It _was_ karaoke night.

Christian snatched up an open booth for the group, Lissa and Jill following him through the horde of dancers. They had disappeared, as did Adrian and Sydney, who had opted to stay as far away from the staff (i.e. Candy, Heidi, Star, and anyone else Adrian might have slept with). Mason, Mia, and Eddie joined the line for the signup sheet; they were getting ready to force Christian to sing 'Barbie Girl'.

Dimitri took Rose out to the middle of the dance floor and just let loose. Rose pushed against him, and shook with lust when Dimitri caressed her and spun her around, so that her back was to his chest. 'Scream' by Usher was playing and Rose ground against Dimitri in time with the beat. They clung together and kissed, pulled, and collided with each other almost violently; the sexual tension was really gathering a crowd around them and they didn't mind one bit…

-o.o-

She could see them from her private corner; Dimitri had fulfilled his purpose, but she wouldn't let him go just yet. She wanted to see him, watch him give into his carnal desires; it was a delicious scene to watch and it was the only reason why Arana hadn't killed Rose. Things would only get better if she kept remembering her 'old' life.

Arana's eyes left their gyrating bodies to watch their group of friends; Mason, Eddie, and Mia had made their way back to the table. They were happily chatting away, oblivious to her and the rest of Anastasia's group. Rebecca, Cam, Callie, Jet, Seth, and Riley had all been left out of this plan due to their overly caring attitudes.

Garrett was in the back with his 'friend' and James was making his rounds with the security guards. Kendall and Kylie were blending into the crowd rather well; it took a second for Arana to locate them.

'Scream' was still playing loudly and it was tempting to just forget her post and drag Dimitri and Rose out of the firing range, but she knew better; this had to be done _tonight_.

-o.o-

Star got up on the stage to entertain her crowd full of horny men and 'normal society'; she began softly humming before full out breaking into song to 'Domino' by Jesse J. She made the crowd stop and just sway.

Dimitri let out a growl; the song didn't scream grind or rip her out of her clothes. He didn't realize where these bizarre urges were coming from; he just knew he wanted Rose… now. He let her enjoy the small break from his constant touch, but he knew the second Star shut the hell up, he'd take Rose right back.

But, Dimitri wouldn't get that chance because the microphone cut off from Star and there were gunshots that rang throughout the club.

"Get down!" He pushed Rose to the floor while everyone scrambled; the gunshots continued until the crowds had stopped rushing for the doors.

"Everyone please get to the ground; this will only take a second of your short and pathetic lives… My friends and I are disgusted with the way you pigs live. You all think that Dhampirs deserve to live their lives like the rest of us? We're better than them, and we always will be. So, get with the program, or get dead; either will suffice." The man, Garrett, smiled at his audience; they were held captive by his words. Almost instantly, Rose broke free of Dimitri's strong hold on her.

"Hey! Wise ass, let go of this stupid idea that Dhampirs will just take the shit that you give them! We won't be standing around taking it for much longer. Who do you think cleans up after your messes, who protects you from the big bad monsters who threaten to drink you dry? We do; so, back the hell off or I'll make you." Rose could see Garrett visibly grind his teeth in frustration at the girl. He lifted his gun so that it was staring her dead in the face.

"And what do you say now?" Before Rose could get a word out, Victor busted in.

"NO! She's mine, don't shoot her… She's… she's…I- What's?" James maneuvered around the huddled forms of people trying to get to Star, while Kendall tended to Victor; she gave him a full dose of spirit healing, and suddenly he was ripping the gun out of Garrett's hand and pointing it straight at Star.

"They say you've been the one raising up all sorts of trouble around here for me." Arana's narrowed eyes wandered from Garrett to Victor and back. What was going on? Garrett had obviously lost control of Victor, who was trying to run the show, while James had gotten tripped up by Candy.

He gripped Candy tight before ripping into her throat; her scream pierced through the room and it was on. Rose flung herself at Kendall, despite Dimitri's grip, and slammed her against one of the many walls. Kylie hollered and tried to get to her twin, but Mason had caught her in the dash. Eddie raced to get to Star, while Dimitri stood locked down by Arana. Shouts were called out as Garrett tried to regain control and Rose sent a flurry of punches and kicks at Kendall repeatedly.

Star had pulled away from James long enough to grab the gun tucked into her dress. She took aim and shot Victor in the head; the crowd erupted in horrified screams and a few cheers. Garrett collapsed, the wall of spirit knocking him flat on his back, and the group of bystanders began to either rush out of the building or help the others kick at the spirit users. The club was nearly empty, everyone had mostly fled, the few that stayed behind were killed instantly by Arana, the only people left being Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Mason, Eddie, Jill, Mia, Adrian, and Sydney (they had joined in the fight from wherever they had gone off to…) and the spirit users James, Kendall, Kylie, Heidi, Garrett, and Arana.

They were obviously outnumbered, but Arana wasn't going to let that stop her; she compelled Dimitri to turn against both Christian and Mason, Kylie slipping out to help her twin.

Rose ducked swiftly under the oncoming, and very sloppy, punch and kicked Kendall back against the bar. Kylie gripped Rose's hair tightly and bit down on the soft flesh of Rose's neck. They tussled with each other, Rose still having the upper hand, before she tossed both to the ground with enough force to knock them unconscious. Her hand flew to the bite; the endorphin rush didn't come, and that was good.

James had enough knowledge to know that they weren't going to win; he gripped Star's neck and crushed it before flinging her limp body at Eddie, who caught it reflexively. He tried to put here down and chase after James, but James had snagged both of the twins and had hightailed it out of the club.

Arana had subdued both Adrian and Lissa easily; they weren't as practiced with spirit as she was; and with a single punch, Sydney was sprawled out against the floor. Garrett stared at Rose with open hate and picked up the fallen pistol.

"Rose! Look out!" It was the only warning Rose had received before the bullet shot through her chest. Dimitri instantly broke out of the compulsion induced haze and ran to her. Heidi grabbed Garrett and towed him away from the club before hopping into her car and stomping on the gas. Arana, the only one left, watched in despair as Rose began to bleed out. _No…_

Lissa and Adrian were useless at this point; Adrian too drunk and Lissa weakened from the fight. Arana was the obvious choice; but Arana was also their enemy, who had calmly left the club calling out a whispered good luck.

Something inside of Dimitri snapped; Victor was dead and that was good, but Rose… she wasn't moving or breathing… He was going numb. Dimitri couldn't hear the others shouting at him through the deafening silence that filled his head. The blinding darkness was closing in and he knew then and there, Rose would die… and he couldn't do a single thing to save her.

-o.o-

"We need to get them out of here, the cops will show up any minute and we need to get Rose to the clinic at the castle… Maybe Sonya or Oksana can help…" Sydney was speaking quickly, knowing nothing would get done otherwise.

Lissa was a sobbing mess, Adrian was still desperately trying to heal Rose, and Eddie had to keep Mia from scratching out Mason's eyes for dragging Rose's limp body from the ground. All the while, Dimitri sat boneless off in his own world.

Christian and Jill started the cars and had them waiting outside for direct transportation to the castle. Christian had taken Dimitri's car and sped off as soon as Rose was safely buckled in and locked into the vehicle.

The others piled into the Pilot, all of them looking rather pathetic. Dimitri still sat there uselessly, but snapped out of it as soon as he realized Rose was gone. He pushed Jill in the passenger seat and drove back to the castle like his ass was on fire.

He needed to get to Rose…

**Author's Note:**

**This felt wrong to write… wonder why. It's a very messy chapter and I apologize if anyone got lost on the trip. So, here's a quick recap:**

**Riley went to have coffee with Sydney. He saw Priscilla (Adrian's ex) and they talked. Priscilla left and Sydney came in. They talked about everything that has been going on from chapter 1 to chapter 15. They leave and go to enjoy the day out. Riley sees Callie (Anastasia's 'minion') and she calls him out. Riley and Callie leave to talk. They run into Ivan and Priscilla. The four go to the secret HQ of the rebellion base. Ivan shows Riley a stupid video. Sydney meets up with Adrian, who is very drunk. They hit it off. Rose and Dimitri have good morning sex and head to the castle to get everyone to go to the 'Church'. Arana is there peeping on Dimitri. Victor shows up and is shot. Star is killed. Everyone freaks out. Rose is shot. Dimitri isn't compelled anymore because he broke out of it with his free will. Rose is dying; Dimitri makes a frowny face and now, Sydney is trying to get her all healed up; good luck with that. **

**Hope that cleared things up… :) Thank you to Callista Wolfwood, RozaRocks, and Brittday20 for reviewing! And as always, thank you to Tatiana Belikova for being so sweet! And for fixing up these chapters so that they are suitable for the audience! **

**Thank you everyone for reading! Please review; I'll try to update this week, but no promises; my schedule has gotten very busy as of late. You can thank the holidays for that…**

**Merry Holidays! :) **

**-Lolita **


	17. Chapter 17

It had been a blur of high-speed car squeals, the honking, yelling, bright intrusive lights, and the rush of adrenaline pumping through veins.

Dimitri sat lifelessly by Rose's side, his face pressed into the cure of her elbow. It had been two days since Garrett had left the bullet in Rose's chest and it was beginning to kill Dimitri.

He had refused to eat, sleep, drink, or do anything that involved leaving Rose; Lissa was worried and Viktoria was about to start throwing shit.

"He's my brother, Adrian! I gave him time to adjust to all of this; you think I haven't thought of the possibility of Rose not surviving, that any of us haven't prepared ourselves for that outcome? He needs to realize that Rose is may not be coming back… ever!" She stormed off to her room within the castle. Sydney put a reassuring hand on Adrian's bicep, squeezing lightly letting him know it was okay.

"She'll come around; what's more important is what we're going to do about Rose… and what to do about Victor's death. Because it happened so quickly, the next Dashkov heir would take his place as King."

"So, in other words, we need to know whether or not the next King/Queen will be on our side…?" Sydney nodded at Christian's question. He sighed and dragged a hand down his tensed face.

They were all tense; Adrian and Lissa had been running themselves ragged trying to heal Rose, but neither could do it. Adrian was too drunk to reach out to the spirit, and Lissa hadn't used her spirit in so long, that she couldn't feel it; it was numb to her.

The only option then was to have Oksana or Sonya heal Rose, but both were outside of the country working on helping others break through the compulsion. It had turned into a waiting game for Rose's health, and it was tearing the group up.

Sydney let the meeting start without Dimitri, and took her place by Adrian's side, falling back into the routine of comforting him through the rough spots.

-o.o-

"God damn it! What the hell happened? Did anyone else see that?" Garrett was storming through the main floor of the clubhouse, beyond pissed at how things had taken a turn at the 'Church'. Garrett was murderous.

"It was a fluke man; nobody could have seen it coming…" James was calm; and that was odd. Heidi watched as the two boys interacted. James, normally the hothead in the group, was trying to reason with Garrett, the level headed one, who was getting ready to kill something.

Garrett shoved James back and tossed the sofa into the wall leaving a nasty dent. He carried on with the tables and armchairs; he even threw the 72 inch flat screen TV out the shattered window. All the while, Arana was calmly watching from a distance.

She didn't understand what had happened either, but had a pretty good guess, "Calm down, sweetheart. It's not your fault; it was Callie's. I can promise you that much," Arana was still going off guesses, but if it made Garrett feel better, then that was good. Garrett turned towards her with a doubtful look on his face.

"But… she can't even compel people! I'm third ranking in the group so… are you saying she's stronger than me?"

"I'm saying she's a liar, a traitor, and a little sneak…"

"Who's a sneak?" Riley walked into the tension filled room, completely unaware of what had been going on. That shut everyone up instantly.

They looked to the bleary eyed Riley, who yawned and stretched out, and then looked back to Arana. She stood still watching Riley mouth widen out into an 'O'. Riley thumped down onto the vacated sofa and rested his head against the armrest. Arana stood watching as Kylie and Kendall sat on either side of James and Garrett. She was the only who had refused to move.

"No one is… We were talking about what happened two days ago; where were you?" It left her lips as a whisper and Riley had barely caught it. He tilted his head back to watch Arana's frozen face curiously.

"Hmmm? Oh, I was with…. Partners. Robert wanted to start meeting up with potential partners and I went to go meet with them. It was a long day… Why does it matter? If it concerned you, Anastasia would have surely informed you." He pushed himself into a sitting position and folded his arms across his chest. Kylie giggled, her sister quick to shush her when Arana's steely gaze hit them.

"It matters because Victor is dead and Rose is bleeding out as we speak… maybe even dead." Riley sat up further and straightened out of his seat. He pushed past Arana and through the door.

Robert was in the kitchen, most likely burning something, when Riley popped in to grab his phone. There were twenty-eight missed calls and seventeen messages, all from Sydney. He grabbed his keys and left the clubhouse in a hurry.

On the way to Priscilla's he listened to the messages.

'_Hey Riley, it's me, Sydney. Listen, I know you're busy, but Rose is dying and I could really use your healing abilities right about now.'_

'_Riley, please pick up. I need you'_

'_Riley… are you okay?'_

'_Where the hell are you?'_

'_Riley!'_

'_Um… It's been… it's been three hours and Rose… she's- she's not breathing and I can't- this is...'_

'_Hi Riley; I need you… like yesterday…'_

All of the messages were the same. Two days; it had been two days since Rose had been shot and where the hell had he been? Riley had spent the better part of those two days sleeping. Ivan had forced him to go through the basic training for novice Dhampirs, and it had been utter hell. And now, Rose was dying… or dead.

Driving through the red lights and almost slamming into a pole, Riley made it to Priscilla's in record time. Almost as if he knew Riley would be there, Ivan was sitting on her porch.

"I heard what happened this morning; Christian texted me. What are you waiting for? Let's go." He shifted slightly to let Riley pass by him. Riley burst into the expansive home and headed straight for the library, where he knew Priscilla would be.

She was there, sitting at the armchair by the fireplace reading a book. Riley watched her silently, not knowing why he even rushed in, but not wanting to leave either. He took in a deep breath and pushed forward, towards the raven haired beauty before him.

"Go; take Ivan to Rose and save her. I'll be waiting for you both here." Priscilla hadn't looked up from her book, but she had somehow known that Riley was standing behind her hesitantly.

"Alright; I'll be back, I promise." Riley turned away and left with Ivan. They headed back to Riley's car and Riley started up the engine. He pulled out of the pathway and set off towards the Diamond Castle.

It was difficult to make conversation due to Ivan glaring at Riley the whole way trip. Riley shifted uncomfortably under Ivan's icy gaze.

"Are you nervous, Riley, because you're sweating bullets?" Riley looked away from the road long enough to see that Ivan had relaxed and was now smirking. Riley slumped into his seat, angry that Ivan had been screwing with him again, but relieved that he hadn't actually pissed Ivan off again.

Riley turned down the road that led to the fields of flowers right before the Diamond castle. He pulled up past the heavy gates, hiding his car behind one of the large weeping willows outside of the gates. Riley looked at Ivan, who sat beside him grinning like an idiot.

"Let's go save Hathaway"

-o.o-

"Maybe even dead." Riley busted out of the room leaving the rest of them, excluding Arana, gaping like fish.

"Does anyone else think that's mildly suspicious?" Arana sat down, ignoring James's comment. She needed Callie to take the heat for Garrett, but she also suspected that Callie was up to something. Not knowing what else to do, Arana headed up to the fourth floor to talk to Anastasia herself.

"And you think Callie may be the culprit in all of this?" Arana nodded to Anastasia's question. Her heart was working overtime, trying to beat right out of her chest.

Anastasia nodded and turned away from Arana. There was a build up before it came crashing back down around them.

"Well, thank you Arana. I need to know when we have traitors and weak links out there. Please keep an eye out and keep me well informed. You are dismissed." Arana dashed out, feeling mildly queasy from being so close to Anastasia without Riley as a buffer

_The sooner Rose dies, the sooner I can get my sister back and leave…_

Arana strutted back downstairs, collecting herself again for her audience. Jet and Seth had joined the others downstairs and were yelling furiously with Garrett; well, Seth was yelling, Jet was back to his quiet self again.

"What the hell do you mean you killed Rose? Are you fucking insane? Anastasia needed her! Hell, I needed her!"

"For what; why would you need Rose, Seth?" Garrett shouted back with the same amount of force. That shut Seth up; he fell back against Jet and curled around him securely. Jet held him back tightly and the fight ended there. Garrett went to go and hold Arana, but she successfully maneuvered around his possessive arms. She steered away from him and headed to the kitchen.

Arana watched wide eyed and worried as Robert attempted, emphasis on attempted, to make dinner for them. He took thick cut steaks and popped them in a pan and lit up the stove with a match.

"Um- Mister Doru, do you need help with that?"

"Huh? Oh, please call me Robert, Arana. And yes, I have no idea what I'm doing… I haven't been able to think clearly with all of this spirit bubbling around inside of my melon!" He cut off with a hearty laugh and Arana quickly stepped in to help.

She ended up doing all of the work, while Robert sipped his wine and made some awkward casual conversation. The steaks were cooked, the vegetables steamed, and the dishes had been cleaned perfectly. Arana was slightly surprised that Garrett hadn't followed her into the kitchen or checked up on her… perhaps it was time to ditch the fool. It wasn't like she actually cared for him; Garrett was just a distraction, a play toy for her.

I don't need worthless loser dragging me down with his insecurities and lack of know-how…

-o.o-

"Let's go save Hathaway"

It was easier said than done. With the amount of security patrolling the outside of the castle, stealing the crown jewels from the queen of England would have been easier… Not that Ivan got the message; he hopped over the tall stone wall that was protected by the surrounding shrubbery and trees.

He slid back against the wall and whistled for Riley, who hesitantly jumped over and joined Ivan by his side. They moved silently together and headed to the smaller building, a possible house.

A guard caught sight of Riley slipping and charged at him with his gun half cocked. Ivan ducked behind the cover and watched as Riley punched the guy in the face before proceeding to knock him out with a swift kick to the face.

"Did you get special training or something? You took out that guy pretty quickly for a Moroi." Ivan whispered when Riley joined him back under the coverings. Riley gave a sharp nod in return.

"Anastasia wanted us to be able to protect her and Robert in case of an emergency. Looks like months of training and practice finally came in handy. Now, let's go; I don't think Rose can wait any longer…" They both hurried at that.

It was easy enough to get inside of the building, but once inside they had to use the elevator to get to the lowest level and past the throng of guards in the hallways and whatever else this deathtrap held…

Once in the elevator, Ivan kicked the emergency hatch open in the ceiling and pulled himself up, "If someone walks in and sees us, we're screwed. Get your ass up here." Riley pulled himself up into the small hole and sat on top of the elevator.

"If someone goes back to the top floor, we'll be crushed genius… and how are we supposed to get to Rose if we're hiding up here?"

"You'll see," was all Riley got from Ivan. They waited, perched up on the elevator, and finally the door slid open to reveal a white walled hallway. Ivan slid easily through the hole and to the ground holding open the doors to peer out into the hallway.

There were three guards; one armed, the other two not. Ivan motioned for Riley to jump through, but turned to see him slipping in half his body and then missing the edge. He fell to the ground with a thud, alerting the guards to their presence.

Ivan grabbed the two unarmed guards and rammed them into the side of the elevator; he slammed their heads together and watched them slide unconscious to the floor. Riley, on the other hand, was compelling the armed guard to drop his weapon and go to sleep. The guard followed his instructions.

"Is that all you're good for?" Riley shrugged in response, letting the question hang in the air. He then walked to the door and pushed it open.

Inside were all of Rose's friends: Lissa, Christian, Mia, Mason, Eddie, Jill, Sydney, Adrian, and her parents. They were standing around the conference table whispering angrily. Riley made no movement toward them, opted for the door that led into the room where Rose was lying unconscious connected to multiple wires and machines. Lissa was the first to see the two walk into the room.

"Wait! Who are you- Ivan?" Ivan turned with Riley, ignoring all of them. Dimitri sat cured around Rose; he looked up to see his best friend gone Strigoi and Riley, a man he had never met in his life.

"Ivan, I need you to remove Dimitri. I can't have anyone near me or in my way." With that, Ivan walked around Riley and pulled Dimitri back with a strong force. Dimitri reflexively fought against him.

"Stop fighting; Rose is going to die without this… Please," Ivan whispered fiercely in Dimitri's ear. His struggles stopped immediately after, and he slumped in Ivan's arms.

Riley crowed Rose and placed his hands against her temples, his eyes shut, and his body growing tense. Adrian's own eyes widen as he saw the telltale sign of spirit's energy flow throughout the room. In a second they all saw Rose's eyes flutter, but then it all stopped moments after. Dimitri pushed out of Ivan's hold, desperate to see Rose.

"Damn… I can't- it's… Damn," Riley pushed away from Rose, her face now full of color, and stumbled to Ivan, "She's gone, but still there… I- I'm not used to seeing it. She's stuck, Ivan…"

Ivan, who had been holding back Dimitri, let him go and walked to Riley.

"I'll do my best to keep them at bay; just get in and get this done."

Riley sat down at the edge of the bed, his arms spread on either side of Rose's unconscious form. He leaned in and…

Dimitri broke away from the rest of the group, "What the hell is he doing?" Ivan pushed against him, blocking Dimitri's access to Rose and Riley.

"Dimitri! He's trying to wake Rose up!" All eyes fell back on Riley, who was lying across Rose unconscious.

"He's…. He's not conscious Ivan." Riley's chest was no longer filling with breath and his cheeks were beginning to pale out. Sydney looked at Riley and went to his side, shaking him with a vengeance.

"Riley? Riley! Wake up!" It did nothing to revive him though; Riley was gone.

-o.o-

Riley's eyes widened instantly and he lifted himself from the empty bed that once held Rose's body. He scanned the room looking for anything, but no one was there. _So, I'm dead now… It's time I find Rose and bring her back…_

Riley walked outside of Rose's temporary hospital room and into the conference room, which held nothing but the furniture and dust. Riley walked out and into the hallway, taking the elevator up and exiting the building all together. _If I were Rose, where would I go?_

He continued to walk until he got to his car that was still parked outside of the stone gates. Starting it up, Riley drove it to the outskirts of town. He came upon a large ranch house and pulled into the driveway. Rose would be here…

He followed the faint trail of energy into the house and up the stairs. When Riley entered the master suite he saw the girl curled up on the King bed. Riley didn't waste time going to her.

Shaking her, he expected to see Rose, but instead he got a look alike with blank glassy white eyes who hung limply in his arms.

"She's not real…" Riley dropped the zombie-like girl and turned to see her; the desert princess Dimitri was so in love with.

_I finally found her…_

**Author's Note: **

**There was supposed to be more, but I'm a lazy bum… I'm sorry for not updating faster! This is the almost end for Queen of Hearts! A few more chapters and… BLAM! It will be done!**

**I'd like to thank RozaRocks and Callista Wolfwood for reviewing! It made me happy to see them! :) **

**I promise to update soon! ;) So please look forward to that! And, Flying Home is up! I may only have 2 chapters up right now, but it will go on!**

**Thanks for reading, please review! I hope you all had a marvelous New Year! x)**

**-Lolita**

**PS: That last part where Riley finds Rose, I'll explain what happened. Don't you worry about that! :) And just another note, I was extremely hesitant bring the story to this point because it was out there in a lot of ways. So, if you really don't like it, don't worry, it isn't here to stay for long! **


	18. Chapter 18

_I finally found her… Rose Hathaway!_

Her hair was let loose, curling softly around the side falling, and her eyes were set in a fixed glare. Rose Hathaway was naturally stunning, but her provocative outfit only helped her case. She wore shorts that ended just beneath the curve of her butt and a tight fitting black tank; a shoulder gun holster and a knife holster strapped to her thigh. She looked as stunning as she did pissed.

"I know. I was looking for you."

"I'll bet. What do you want?" She folded her arms across her chest and stared him down. Riley swallowed down air, not knowing how to proceed.

"To bring you home…"

"I am home," Her gaze softened and she took a step towards him, "What did you really come here for? You're not dead or dying…" Riley watched her face thoughtfully and opened his mouth.

"I-" There was a crash downstairs, banging, and then silence. Rose whipped back towards Riley and shoved him behind the bed.

"Keep your head down and shoot at whatever isn't me that tries to get to you!" She flung one of her guns at him and faced the door, which was slowly beginning to open. A bitter looking man peeked through before flinging it open. His jade eyes narrowed in on Rose and he moved forward.

"If it isn't my dear girl, Rose Hathaway…" His voice sounded overly aged and he looked ancient.

"It's a pity to see you here Victor, but at least this way I don't have to kill you anymore." Victor flung himself at Rose and she neatly dodged back, but the sudden grab of her ankle caused her to slam into his chest. His arm wrapped around her waist snuggly as he brought her down. They wrestled on the ground, Victor's nail digging into her forearms, and finally Rose shoved him off completely.

Riley watched as Victor tried to get up again and took that moment to make a move. He fired the gun at Victor's chest and Riley went flying back from the sound.

"Was he trying to get you? No! Riley…." Rose's face was filled with pure rage, though her eyes conveyed fear. There were sounds of chaos coming from downstairs and both Riley and Rose turned to the noise.

Without thinking, Riley grabbed Rose's arm and tugged her back behind the bed. We have to get out somehow… If we can get out of the house, it'll be a straight shot towards the city. Riley lifted Rose up, who was now yelling at him, and went to the window.

He let go and watched her fall the two stories down; he then quickly jumped out. When he landed, Riley sprinted to his car, Rose hot on his heels.

"Are you a freaking dumbass? You're lucky we made it. The doors and windows are highly dangerous!" Rose went off on Riley, who was tactfully ignoring her, and continued on. If Riley was correct, both he and Rose would need to get back to their bodies in one piece and then just wake up.

They got into the car and sped off through the city and towards their destination. Unfortunately, with them being in the spirit world, they were going to run into some familiar faces; even the unfriendly ones. Victor hadn't been the worst, but he was certainly frightening. As they went through the city, they passed by several people Rose knew from a single glance.

Most of the faces were of her former classmates who went into the initial fight half cocked. Meredith, Jesse, Ralph, Martin were seen amongst them. A deep pain shot through Rose's chest as she thought of all her fallen friends and everyone else who had given their lives trying to stop Anastasia.

What made matters worse though, was that no one knew that Anastasia was behind it. She kept herself away from the spotlight, while placing others in the heat of the 'battle'; she knew what she was doing.

Rose let her mind continue to wander down this path, thinking about how she was going to stop Anastasia now that she was going to be returning to the world of the living. It was at that moment that Riley swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a horde of angry dead people.

"What do you have planned now?" Riley turned to her, mostly confused, but still answered.

"You think I planned for an attack of the dead?" He shook his head and sped down another road, hoping to lose the crowd that had begun to gather and follow them. Both Rose and Riley could hear their angered shouts, but Rose seemed untouched by their wrath.

"Do you get that a lot?"

"What? Dead people pissed that I'm still alive? Yes, yes I do get that a lot." She chuckled humorlessly and Riley continued to make sharp turns.

It was beginning to become very obvious that they weren't getting out of there in one piece.

"Now do we split up?"

-o.o-

It was unbelievably awkward.

They refused to stop staring and he was becoming very annoyed with their prying eyes.

"Guys! Can you stop staring at me like I'm a fucking science project?" At least they have the decency to look ashamed… Ivan turned his back to his group of friends to stare contently at Riley's unmoving body. He had been unconscious for a little over an hour and Lissa was acting very antsy. She bobbed up and down, moved back and forth, and refused to hide the excitement from her face.

"Is he going to help bring Rose back?" She asked for the umpteenth time. Sensing Ivan's frustration, Christian politely emptied the room of all occupants, aside from Dimitri. He stood alone by her bed, holding her hand, looking as frustrated as ever. Ivan looked from his friend's face to Riley's; and then finally his gaze rested on Rose's peaceful face. Though she was technically dead, she still looked as vibrant and alive as the last time he saw her…

Dimitri was leaning in to place a small kiss on Rose's temple when Riley jumped from his resting place with a pained shout. His face was flushed a deep crimson and his face and palms were sweating endlessly, his breath came out in short spurts of awkward gasps and his eyes were wide in terror; in short, he looked like the dead given life.

Riley rolled off of the bed and hit the ground hard while the door entering the room flew open, revealing everyone. Their eyes were alight; Ivan almost felt bad for them. In all of Riley's scrambling to get up and the group's cramming to get in, Rose still laid very still on top of the bed. She resembled a fallen princess waiting for her true love's kiss to break the spell.

"What happened in there, Riley?"

"Rose… she has to go through this alone. I wasn't any help; and now I need to get back to Anastasia's before there is any suspicion of where I've been. I'm sorry for your loss." He pushed through Ivan's friends and stormed out to the elevator, and eventually out of the building.

When Ivan finally caught up, he grabbed Riley's arm and tossed him to the side of his car, "What the hell do you mean she has to go through 'it' alone? You were supposed to go in and help her wake the hell up! This wasn't the plan!"

"Does it matter? Rose knows what needs to be done. Only she can do what needs to be done, and the sooner you and everyone else realize that, the better off everyone will be in the end. Now I have to get back to the house, or else people will be more than a little interested in what activities I participated in today."

"You have to go back to Anastasia's, right?" The question seemed innocent enough, but the answer was obvious.

"Yes… she wants everyone to meet up for some big meeting she has planned; something having to do with new people, or something like that…" Riley trailed off, watching Ivan closely, wondering if Ivan knew something he didn't.

"New people? Sounds about right…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Anything you want it to mean, Riley… You should go; I have to meet up with some people anyways… Just… Don't do anything stupid." And with those parting words, Riley went to his car.

He pulled away from Diamond Castle and tore down the lane leading back into town. Once Riley's car was safely out of view, Ivan ran the opposite direction, farther behind the Diamond Castle and followed North, along the edge of the woods.

-o.o-

Ivan was greeted by a colony of eager looking, pale faced monsters. Out of all of them, he was glad to see Edgar and Nathan, Galina's two helpful trolls. They were both equally annoying, but they had their uses; Ivan needed to have an audience with Galina before they left for their little 'vacation'.

Ivan was working behind a lot of relationships and although he might have looked like a backstabber, it was quite the opposite. He was going to help finish this once and for all.

**Author's Note:**

**Ugh, this is a crap chapter; I already know :( Obviously this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I just couldn't get my thoughts out for the longest time, so please don't hate me… **

**I think there will only be two, maybe one, more chapter(s) left for this story… So yeah….**

**Thank you to Rozalie Hathaway Belikova, RozaRocks, Brittday20, and Callista Wolfwood for reviewing!**

**If you are wondering what happened in the 'spirit world' with Rose and Riley, do not fear! You will find out what happened in the next chapter. So, chapter summary…**

**Riley gets into the Spirit World and finds Rose easily. They team up against Victor and Riley pulls Rose through a window before more of the 'undead' can come and try to kill them. Rose yells at Riley for being stupid. They try to get through the city, but with Rose nearby, everyone wants to kill her. Rose asks the question of whether or not they'll separate. Then the story goes back to Ivan. Lissa bugs the shit out of him with her questions and Christian shoves them out of the room. Riley wakes up without Rose; that leads to more questions (which will be answered in the next chapter). Ivan corners Riley outside of the castle and then Riley leaves for the 'Clubhouse'. Ivan goes another way to meet with Galina and a huge colony of Strigoi.**

**Okay, that may or may not help those who may or may not get confused… Hopefully nobody got confused. :) Thanks for reading and please review! It makes me smile, and you might too! :)**

**-Lolita**


	19. Chapter 19

"Now do we split up?"

"Yeah…" Riley replied, slightly out of breath. The mass of the dead following them was unnerving for Riley and he would be more than pleased to get out of the situation.

The two quickly came up with a game plan that consisted of distractions and running as if hell hounds were trying to kill you. Riley let Rose out and spun around in the car to lead the horde away from her.

_Now what? _She thought to herself when she lost sight of Riley. She was in the middle of the Spirit World with no sense of direction; hell she didn't even know where the exit was!

"Pst!" Rose turned towards the noise; she had her guard raised, and looked at air. She moved closer, trying to not draw attention back to herself and looked past the overgrown shrubs to see a very familiar face; Andre.

"At least someone isn't trying to kill me!" Andre smiled at that before motioning her closer.

"Don't worry Rosie; I'm not the only sane person here. And it didn't take you long to find help…" Rose thought back to the mysterious kid that had helped lead Victor and the others to her; some help… But instead of mentioning that, she nodded and walked alongside Andre.

He led her to a building Rose had never seen in the city, but shrugged it off knowing that it was the Spirit World; crazy shit happens here all the time.

"Just so you know, we've been waiting for you."

"Who?"

"Us…"

Rose turned around to see Eric and Rhea Dragomir smiling at her happily. _Oh god… _They looked beautiful in their frozen age; they had no marks to show for the crash they had been killed in. It was that same car crash that killed Rose and forever bonded her to Lissa… up until their bond had been destroyed by Anastasia.

"It's great to see you guys again, though the circumstances suck and all…"

"Situation aside, we're happy to see you as well, Rose. And as much as we wish you could stay and chat, you have somewhere much more important to be: with Lissa." Rose nodded; Rhea was right. _I have to get back to Lissa… and Dimitri_. A shiver traveled through Rose, leaving her feeling light as air and ready to go.

"Okay, let's get me back!"

-o.o-

"Son of a bitch!" Riley slammed into his breaks again. He watched warily as the horde dwindled before giving up on Riley. He was doing a crap job at keeping them interested, but the horde didn't want Riley, they wanted Rose. Rose, the one girl who had escaped death numerous times… _who wouldn't want her to die already?_

Riley went into reverse and pulled back to corral them back from the main street. "C'mon, you dead freaks! Why Rose? She's such a loser anyways!" Nothing was helping and Riley's headache was increasing by the second.

"You'll never get their attention that way." It was that one flippant comment that sent him over the edge.

"Yeah, and what the hell do you know?" The woman chuckled before shaking her head.

"I know that they only want Rose; I've been here for quite a while. My name is Karolina Belikova."

-o.o-

So maybe Rose wasn't as ready as she thought she was. Eric and Rhea were going over which direction would be the safest to go while Andre was watching out for the evil-doers wanting to kill her and that left Rose sitting on a couch. Rhea moved away from Eric and sat on Rose's left.

"Rose, we knew that when you became Lissa's guardian, your future was going to be cut short. You have fought so hard for Lissa and for your friends. I hope you know we are appreciative of your efforts and dedication to our daughter."

"No need; I will always protect Lissa." Andre motioned for Rose and they both looked down into the street to see that it had been cleared of all bodies. Rhea had finally agreed that it would be safest for Rose if Andre were to take her west towards where Anastasia hid out in the real world.

They set off not ten minutes later, speeding through the streets in a convertible that Andre had magically willed up.

"So is everything in the real world portrayed here in the Spirit World?"

"Kind of; it's mostly based off of the last memories and all that. Anyways, not many people stay in the Spirit World. There are a lot of people that have moved on; so it's going on pretty recent memories… or something like that."

The rest of the ride there was silent and Rose found herself thinking back to Dimitri during the time when she wasn't being compelled like a rag doll. She had been trying to keep Dimitri and the others safe while she, Christian, and Ivan went to end Anastasia and her crazy rampage; of course that was before the psycho blew up the court and tried to attack the original queen, Tatiana. _So much shit has changed since then…_

"We're here… sort of." Andre had stopped the car in front of a massive wall. There was nothing in either direction from the wall, which led Rose to question if Andre was still sane in this world.

"Don't worry; I'm still sane."

_Sure you are…_

-o.o-

Riley sat back as he watched Karolina drive him to some unknown location. She was a Belikov, so she had to have some connection to Dimitri; that made her reliable, right?

"You can stop worrying; I won't hurt you. You wanted to get back to Rose, right? Well, this is how you do it." Karoline led him off towards the outskirts of town. It didn't take long for them to get to a barrier.

The barrier was nothing short of enormous. Brick upon brick upon brick; tall layers that extended out and seemed to go on for eternity.

"Don't worry; I'm still sane." Riley's head shot over to wear he heard the voice. Karoline waved Riley over before she passed through thin air; well, technically she walked through the barrier. One minute she was studying the wall, and the next she had vanished.

Riley tested the wall, finding it sturdy and completely impossible to go through. But, just as he backed away from it, Karoline head popped through again.

"If you push here, you'll be able to go through…" Riley did as she instructed and found it to be true. On the other side stood Rose, Karoline, a man, a little boy, and three other women. The women looked similar enough to be related.

Rose was tense, body rigid and pulled tight, as she avoided any and all eye contact. The man introduced himself as Andre and then continued to introduce the others. Riley suddenly understood why Rose looked pained and who these people were.

One of the women embraced Rose lovingly, telling her that the sacrifice was necessary; Olena Belikova. The oldest of the three, Yeva, stayed silent, but refused to direct her glare away from Riley's face; he could practically hear her thoughts.

_This is your fault boy._

The words were soft, but packed with enough feeling that Riley instantly felt guilty. Whatever he did, he regretted it. These people didn't deserve death.

Sonya Belikova, Karoline Belikova, and little Paul…. Rose let tears fall from her eyes, but it didn't move her focus. She knew why they were here, and who was responsible.

"Do not worry, child. We are here to help you and your friend cross back into the world of the living; that I can promise."

-o.o-

It had taken Rose a moment to take in what Olena was instructing her to do. With Paul giggling around her and Sonya laughing at her lack of focus, Rose wasn't producing very good results.

"Rose, you must concentrate," Karoline supplied softly, "It is imperative you find something that connects you to the real world."

"It's no use; Riley's got it down and he has no bond mate. Rose will just have to suffer here for the rest of her life," Sonya snarked, leaning against the sturdier part of the barrier. The comment caused Rose to flare up; she was trying. It wasn't her fault she had never found a connection in the real world without Lissa.

_Dimitri_… her mind whispered out to her.

That was right. She was bound to Dimitri physically, mentally, and emotionally. Her love for him would surely work as a connection. Rose drew on the tight warm feeling she got when thinking of Dimitri. Her head went numb as the feeling spread throughout her.

"Good, seems like you've got the hang of this. Now you've got to go and prove that you can handle the consequences of your actions. When you've proven yourself strong enough, that's when you can go back to the real world." Rose barely registered Andre; her head was still bathing in the light.

Andre grinned and led Rose away from Riley. Olena looked at him; he was completely focused. She smiled.

"You look like you've found your way. I hope you find your way home safely. Oh, and could you thank Ivan for me. He's been protecting both Viktoria and Dimitri; it means so much to all of us…" Riley nodded to Olena before settling back into the sweet glow; _Priscilla_.

-o.o-

"So why do I have to prove myself?"

"Not really prove, just reclaim your position in the world, if that makes any sense. Don't kill anyone though; that would be _very_ bad…" Rose nodded letting the warm tingling feeling take over. Lights flared up around her and danced in the shadows. Andre's presence was soon unrecognizable as she settled back into 'herself'. A test… she could figure out what it would be about. If she could go back and change everything, set it all up differently, would she?

The question buzzed and fizzled in the air like the hum of electricity. Before Rose stood Anastasia; this is where she first met her, at the gala thrown by Queen Bitch herself.

"Dhampirs, dirty little things… a poison amongst our kind." _Anastasia_… Rose was reliving the day everything had changed.

"I'm sorry your husband left you, but get your head out of your ass! You're a grown woman; act like one."

"Excuse me?"

"He obviously didn't deserve you, but that doesn't mean you have to hate Dhampirs. We aren't your enemies." Anastasia lunged at Rose, yelling out.

"No, you're not my enemy; you're my _FOOD_!"

Rose shuddered back as she remembered the feel of Anastasia's fangs against her flesh, the chill up her spine, and the unshakable uneasiness she had felt the rest of the day. Anastasia was bat shit crazy.

Her answer was obvious; the only thing Rose regretted was not killing the psycho when given the chance,

Beside her, Rose felt Andre shift. "I'm sorry Rose, but this is only the beginning."

-o.o-

Riley was back with the others in the Clubhouse. Oddly, it was tense. Nobody was talking to one another; everyone was huddled into little groups. James, Garrett, Kylie and Kendall were surrounding the door that led outside. They spoke in hushed whispers eyeing both Arana and Rebecca.

Rebecca was with Callie and Cam in the furthest corner. Though Cam and Callie were happily chattering, Rebecca was in an epic stare down with Arana. Arana sat in the armchair directly across the room from them.

Jet, Seth, and Heidi were silent and still. Seth was sleeping in Jet's lap, head pressed against his chest. Heidi was curled into a tight ball pushed up against the armrest. Riley felt alone, which never happened. His teammates had never been so separated before.

He stood near Arana, not completely sure what was happening. While watching Arana's fierce glare pierce Rebecca, Anastasia walked into the room. Well, not really walked; she managed to appear in the room silently, almost ghostlike. Anastasia did manage to still look absolutely viscous.

"Children, if you would settle… I have good news and bad news." Her eyes trailed over all of them. "Bad news, we have a traitor in our midst; someone who has been meeting in secret with the Dhampirs and healing their wounded. But fear not young ones; there is also some very good news. I have made a wondrous encounter with special people who can deal with traitors efficiently. Welcome your newest guests."

With a grand gesture she waved _them_ in. On cue, their silence erupted into shouts of protest and anger.

"What?"

"You've got to be joking…"

"This is insane!"

But it all ended with a quick snap of her fingers. "There will be no discussion. Your wonderful guests will be staying with you here and making sure that you are performing to the highest of your abilities." There were four Strigoi behind Anastasia, each of them menacing in their own way.

Riley's eyes widened at the sight of Ivan amongst them. Callie must have known, or had a really good poker face, because her face betrayed nothing.

"Galina, Nathan, Edger, and Ivan," Anastasia said in place of an actual introduction. Her eyes held knowledge though, and suddenly it clicked. _Anastasia is going to have the Strigoi kill the traitor…_ His mind was racing; he had helped Rose, been secretly meeting with Priscilla, and working with Sydney when time allowed. He was the traitor…

"Galina, if you would." In an instant Galina was in the center of the room with Callie held by the throat. Her eyes, Callie's, were wide in mock fear, but she was too limp; not as if she were scared. No, she wasn't going to resist them…

"Miss Callie Mills, you have been caught interfering with the murder of Rosemarie Hathaway and aiding her as well. You have betrayed yourself and your friends, and for this you will die." Riley saw that both Cam and Jet were holding Rebecca back; she was fighting both boys with an odd ferocity.

"I was not at Rose's aide."

"Kill her, Galina." That's when everything went to hell. Callie managed to break free from Galina just as Rebecca let loose a flurry of fire. It engulfed the Strigoi as she and Cam grabbed Callie. Through the flames, Nathan and Ivan leaped into the fight. Garrett and James had both jumped back once it had lit up, dragging a hysterical Kylie and a sobbing Kendall. Seth and Heidi were shouting over the chaos, trying in vain to calm the madness.

Jet and Riley watched in awe when the fight began. Rebecca threw fire at anyone who dared to get too close, while Cam introduced Edger to his fist. When Galina scrambled into the fight, Cam was caught off guard, as Rebecca had not been paying much attention to anyone behind her.

Edger grabbed Rebecca, Nathan Cam, and Ivan snatched Callie back with him. Riley wanted to intervene, but knew he could not. The dying flames illuminated Arana's startled gaze. Shadows danced upon the walls, flickering in and out.

All three were carried out limp over the Strigoi's shoulders, necks bloody from their razor fangs.

"Never betray me. This is your only warning." Was it a coincidence that her eyes never left Riley's?

-o.o-

Nathan dropped Cam unceremoniously to the ground before lifting his head up to provide blood. Galina watched over him and Edger with a small smile. Ivan handled Callie carefully; he tilted her head up, letting his wrist slide into place over her mouth.

His blood escaped through the corners of her lips, none of it going down properly. Galina caught sight of it immediately.

"Why isn't it staying down?"

"I-I'm not sure…"

Galina's eyes narrowed in on Callie's limp body. There was no struggle for breathe, fluttering of eyelids, or stirring of her chest. "Ivan, was her blood bitter?"

"Yes… why?"

"The rumors are true I suppose. There are some that our blood cannot turn; those with bitter blood." She turned from Ivan, gaze resting back on Cam and Rebecca who were now stirring, "Your friend is dead Ivan. There is no bringing her back as one of us."

His eyes dropped to Callie, a girl turned so young and unable to grow old. She lost what little of her life she was able to regain and Ivan regretted biting into her. He hated himself for it. Callie deserved more than what she had been given.

_Your emotions prove that you still have your humanity. Never forget that Ivan. We've been blessed, given another chance to do good. So let's make the most of this time!_

-o.o-

Riley had left Dimitri and the others awhile ago, with parting words that drove Dimitri crazy. He sat over Rose's still frozen form, panic running through him. _If Rose didn't wake up…_

**Why would you care?**

The words felt so very familiar and yet so foreign. He managed to block them out. Too much had been happening and it was beginning to take its toll.

His mind instantly filled with thoughts of Rose. When they had been alone and together, in the comfort of each other's arms, the silent nights bringing them closer than ever, those were the times Dimitri missed.

From the moment Dimitri had set eyes on Rose, he knew it was going to be a lost cause trying to stay away from her and to try to deny her. In the end they had joined; how could they not? They had complimented each other so wonderfully…

Dimitri had fallen asleep on Rose's chest. His hair fanned about his face; he hadn't bothered to tie it back. Beneath him was a movement, not noticeable unless you had been waiting for it.

Another breath and a stir; eyelids fluttered...

Dimitri shifted, still half asleep, stretching the numbness out of his limbs.

Breath, stir, flutter twitch…

He sat up fully and yawned; he didn't want to be awake just yet.

Flutter, twitch, stir…

Eyelids slowly lifted, the corner of a mouth quirked, fingers flexed and spread…

Dimitri looked down into the depths of chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey Comrade,"

**Welcome back Rosemarie… **

**Author's Note:**

**Well, that took forever to update; and I'd like to apologize! Okay, so this was the very last chapter of Queen of Hearts. If you haven't noticed there will be a sequel or a part two because there's a hint on my profile…**

**Thank you to RozaRocks, Brittday20, XxXLost-In-The-CrowdXxX, and Callista Wolfwood! You guys are fantastic as well as everyone else who has read this story! I'd also like to thank my beta, Tatiana Belikova, who has helped me and put up with my lateness… :) **

**As for stories, there is an original story by me on Fiction Press; please check it out! It's called Devil's Gate. It's under LolitaPop27; no change there ;) **

**The sequel will be put up later; I need to update Flying Home… :) **

**Thanks again!**

**-Lolita**


	20. Queen of Hearts - Update!

**Author's Note: **

**Hey guys! This is just a quick heads-up to those of you who care.**

**Yes, Queen of Hearts is over, but King of Spades is coming to a computer nearest you soon! **

**While you wait though, why not read the newest story? It's called 'I Was a Devil' and it's basically a back story on three characters from the Clubhouse! I really hope you go and check it out!**

**-Lolita**


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